The first iPhone that officially launched in South Africa was the iPhone 3G, and it cost R6,389.
The launch prices of Apple iPhones in South Africa have risen from R6,389 for the iPhone 3G in September 2008 to R20,799 for the iPhone 17 in September 2025.
Moreover, a MyBroadband analysis has revealed that local iPhone prices have far outstripped inflation since the iPhone 6 launched in October 2014.
The current base model iPhone, the Apple iPhone 17 with 256GB of internal storage, would cost roughly R6,300 less today if launch prices had kept pace with inflation.
Apple launched the first iPhone in June 2007. However, the device never made it to South Africa as its launch was largely limited and depended on exclusive carrier partnerships.
By the time the iPhone 3G launched in 2008, it had become far easier for Apple to distribute its devices internationally.
The iPhone 3G launched in the US in late June 2008 and reached South African shores a few months later, in late September 2008.
Apple priced the iPhone 3G at $599 (R4,675, excl. VAT and duties, at the time), and in South Africa, it launched at R6,389.
The iPhone 3G’s launch was a big milestone for Apple. It upgraded the original iPhone’s cellular data from EDGE (2.5G) to UMTS/HSDPA (3G), making mobile browsing significantly faster.
It also introduced the Apple App Store, enabling users to install third-party applications on their phones for the first time.
Regarding its specs, it offered a 3.5-inch 480×320-pixel display, packed 128MB of RAM and up to 16GB of storage, and featured a 2MP rear camera.
While the device offered 3G connectivity, it didn’t support 3G hotspot functionality, meaning its data connection couldn’t be shared with other devices.
At the time, it was competing primarily with Nokia, BlackBerry, and Samsung, and the combination of 3G connectivity, a touchscreen display, a full web browser, the App Store, and GPS support made it popular.
MyBroadband compared local Apple iPhone launch prices over the years to inflation-adjusted prices from the iPhone 3G’s launch at R6,389.
Our analysis found that the current base model, the iPhone 17, would cost approximately R6,311 less today had launch prices trended with inflation.
Local launch prices largely tracked inflation from the iPhone 4, which launched locally in September 2010 for R6,999, to the iPhone 5C, which launched in November 2013 for R8,299.
According to our analysis, the inflation-adjusted prices for these devices would be R6,907 and R7,790, which were relatively close to their launch prices.
However, things shifted in 2014 with the October launch of the iPhone 6. Its local launch price of R12,500 was nearly R4,000 more than the inflation-adjusted price of the iPhone 3G.
The gap between local launch pricing and inflation closed slightly from the Apple iPhone 6s launch in October 2015 to the iPhone 8 launch in October 2017.
However, the gap began to widen again from 2019, with the September launch of the Apple iPhone 11 for R14,999. At the time, the inflation-adjusted price of the iPhone 3G would have reached R10,116.
The gap between local launch pricing and the inflation-adjusted price was widest at the iPhone 15’s launch in September 2023.
The device launched locally for R21,999, which was roughly R8,506 more than the inflation-adjusted price of the iPhone 3G at the time.
The iPhone 16 launched locally for R21,049 in September 2024, roughly R7,038 more than the inflation-adjusted price at the time.
Local launch prices for Apple iPhones in South Africa are compared to the inflation-adjusted price of the iPhone 3G in the table below.
ModelLocal launch dateLaunch priceInflation-adjusted price of the iPhone 3GApple iPhone 3G26 September 2008R6,389
R6,389.00
Apple iPhone 422 September 2010R6,999
R6,907.41
Apple iPhone 514 December 2012R8,299
R7,790.10
Apple iPhone 5c15 November 2013R8,499
R8,196.41
Apple iPhone 624 October 2014R12,500
R8,658.78
Apple iPhone 6s16 October 2015R11,799
R9,065.09
Apple iPhone 714 October 2016R14,669
R9,653.55
Apple iPhone 820 October 2017R13,499
R10,115.92
Apple iPhone XR26 October 2018R15,999
R10,634.32
Apple iPhone 1127 September 2019R14,999
R11,012.62
Apple iPhone 12 Mini18 December 2020R15,999
R11,390.91
Apple iPhone 13 Mini8 October 2021R14,999
R11,937.34
Apple iPhone 1423 September 2022R20,599
R12,806.02
Apple iPhone 1529 September 2023R21,999
R13,492.56
Apple iPhone 1620 September 2024R21,049
R14,010.96
Apple iPhone 1719 September 2025R20,799
R14,487.34
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