First iPhone 15 Pro Max sells for nearly $3,000 in Vietnam

"Our first iPhone 15 Pro Max was sold to a man who bought it as a gift for his wife-to-be," the store manager said. "He did not care about the price, only [wanted to be one of the first buyers] in Vietnam."

He said the price was much higher than the retail price for the phone that arrived officially in Vietnam Friday night.

Purchased earlier from Singapore for selling in Vietnam, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a natural titanium color, the bestseller this year, he said.

Le Hieu, manager of a phone store on Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Hanoi, said early Friday afternoon that the price of the phone would fluctuate greatly before the official sales began on Saturday.

The titanium Pro Max costs VND48-50 million for the 256 GB version and VND53-55 million for the 512 GB version. Other colors are VND1-3 million cheaper.

In Singapore it has a starting price of S$1,999 (US$1,463.5), but both Apple Stores and authorized dealers ran out of stock of the titanium version immediately after going on sale.

Stores in Vietnam said pre-release demand is the same as in previous years, mainly for gifting.

Hieu said: "There are fewer Apple phones in the Singaporean market than last year. The price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max in the black market right outside the Apple Store is $150-300 higher."

Since this time the new model will arrive in Vietnam just two or three days after its release, shops buying them in neighboring countries only had that period to make a profit and not weeks unlike in previous years.

Vietnam is in the list of markets where it will be sold in the second phase, with orders taken on Sept. 22 for delivery on Sept. 29. But the titanium one is out of stock and delivery has been postponed to November.

The iPhone 15 is made of titanium and not aluminum and steel unlike previous models. It also has a USB-C connection instead of a traditional Lightning port.