The 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone, the first with a nearly bezel-less display, sells for roughly P90,000 in local stores, almost double the price if based on its $999 tag in the US.
"Ang binabayaran kasi diyan is yung ikaw yung first few na unang magkakaron ng iPhone X dito sa Pilipinas," one online seller told ABS-CBN News by phone.
(What you're paying for is the privilege to be among the first few owners of iPhone X in the Philippines.)
Official Apple retailers in the Philippines, Power Mac Center and Beyond the Box, and Smart Communications list only the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus as forthcoming early Friday.
The two handsets, unveiled at the same time as the iPhone X last September, retain the same form factor that Apple started in 2014 with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. They have been available unofficially in the Philippines since October.
The seller said the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus also sold for nearly P100,000 when they first hit the gray market.
Some merchants abroad even held bids for resellers in the Philippines, further padding the price of the iPhone X, according to the seller interviewed by ABS-CBN News.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
