iPhone 17 and Air launch in the UAE: Apple fans queue for flagship devices

Apple started selling its latest iPhones in the UAE on Friday, greeted by the usual rush as customers queued to buy the devices, the product of the biggest design shake-up in years.

Thousands were in the queue on Friday at Dubai Mall's Apple Store when it opened its famed "solar wings" doors at 8am.

The company is not allowing walk-in purchases on launch day, in a departure from recent years. Only customers who ordered the phones – iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air – through its website and have opted for pickup will be granted access.

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Muhammad Shaka, the first in the queue, placed his order last Friday. He picked up two iPhone 17 Pro Max.

"The colour is fantastic. It's very crazy to see this," Mr Shaka, who is from Pakistan and lives in Dubai, told The National.

Shameer Kader, an Indian living in Dubai, said he barely slept in preparation for launch day.

"I'm very excited about the new phone. After [morning] prayers, I just came here and arrived a little after 5am," he told The National.

Mr Kader, who also bought two iPhone 17 Pro Max, said what attracted him the most are the new colours, the A19 Pro chip, the cameras and IOS 26, the latest iPhone operating system featuring liquid glass.

He added that, as a loyal iPhone user, he has always kept tabs on new launches.

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"We're watching what are the new things [on the latest iPhones]. I want to touch and feel them ... so I just wait for a long time, very excited," he added.

The turnout at the Apple store shows the continued popularity of the iPhone, which some consider a benchmark for innovation and trends.

There are four Apple stores in the UAE – in Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, and Yas Mall and Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi – with a fifth store to open in Al Ain this year. The company is also expanding its retail channels, online and physical, in Saudi Arabia.

Apple introduced the new iPhones last week at its annual special event.

The iPhone 17 Pro models were still the top-end models, but what stole the show was the iPhone Air, the 5.6mm-thin device that is expected to trigger a new battlefront in the smartphone wars.

Apple touts the iPhone Air, which it says is its most durable flagship product by far, as having “MacBook-level” power.

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The company also unveiled the Watch Series 11, Watch SE 3, Watch Ultra 3 and AirPods Pro 3.

Apple has largely maintained its prices for the new iPhones, bucking early rumours of an across-the-board increase.

“Apple has always had a unique ability to turn incremental updates into must-have products, and the iPhone Air is the clearest example of that in this launch," said Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at broker eToro.

The iPhone Air is Apple’s "boldest hardware move in years and sets a new benchmark in smartphone design. While we didn’t get the much-anticipated foldable iPhone, Apple’s strategy here is about deepening ecosystem loyalty and flexing its pricing power", he added.