Kochi man flies to Dubai to buy iPhone 14 ahead of India release

A Kochi-based businessman flew all the way to Dubai to become one of the first owners of the iPhone 14, said a recent report.

Dheeraj Palliyil reportedly purchased the brand new Apple phone from a premium reseller in Dubai's Mirdif Centre at 7 am on Friday, hours before its sale opened in India.

28-year old Palliyil told TOI that he spent Rs 40,000 on air tickets and visa fee to buy the new iPhone 14 which cost Rs 1,29,000 (5,949 AED)


Palliyil, director of Dare Picture digital consultancy in Kochi, had done the same for the release of four earlier models as well: iPhone 8, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.

Earlier, iPhone sales in Dubai opened a few weeks before it opened in Delhi. Now the difference is only of a few hours, but that didn't stop him from hopping across the sea to get the latest model.

"It gives you a special feeling when you purchase the phone as the first customer when thousands of people are waiting outside the shop," Palliyil said.