More and more Vietnamese opt for iPhone 13 over successor

Quang Luyen, an office worker in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, had planned to buy an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Distributors promised him that if he orders now he could get it before November.

However, he bought an iPhone 13 Pro Max instead because it was on sale and there was no need to wait.

That phone has been a best-seller this week, according to most retailers.

A spokesperson for Viet Mobile said sales of the iPhone 13 Pro Max jumped by 30 percent after the release of the iPhone 14 since it has a better configuration and price than the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 plus besides which people do not want too long for the latest models.

There are typically discounts throughout the year on the iPhone 13, with the two biggest being in March and June.

Last week the 128 GB version of the 13 Pro Max was discounted by VND300,000 (US$12.18) to around VND26.6 million. A phone with 1TB of space carried a discount of VND1.6 million and cost VND37.9 million.

Overall, the price has dropped by VND7.5-10.5 million since its release in October last year.

Nguyen Lac Huy of CellphoneS said an iPhone 13 Pro Max costs around the same as an iPhone 14 Plus, but is better because it has a steel frame design and a triple-lens camera while the latter has only two lenses.

After the release of the iPhone 14, his chain saw a 20-30% jump in sales of the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Apple has ceased production of the latter, and so while demand is strong in Vietnam supply is low.

Some retailers have reported that their stocks would not last past November.