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Apple’s iPhone 17 Frenzy: Apple’s latest flagship phones continued to generate huge consumer buzz globally. In Russia – where Apple halted direct sales in 2022 – major resellers held launch events for the iPhone 17 on Sept 20, and early indicators show remarkable demand despite economic woes. Retailer Restore reported 66% more pre-orders than last year’s model reuters.com. Shoppers are enticed by the iPhone 17’s revamped camera system and new “Air” variant, even at steep prices reuters.com. “There is a huge fan base that will never exchange iPhone for anything else,” a Russian Apple retailer noted, suggesting Apple’s brand loyalty remains intact reuters.com. One tech blogger in Moscow said “there are a lot of new features that attract me. First of all, the cameras,” indicating the upgrades may prompt even Android users to switch reuters.com. This enthusiastic response comes even as Russia’s economy faces 20-year-high interest rates and consumers shoulder hefty “parallel import” markups for Apple devices reuters.com reuters.com. The iPhone 17’s global rollout earlier in the week has generally been seen as a success, showing resilient consumer appetite for premium tech gadgets.