New iPhone 6 models cost as much as P117,585 in PH

So Kimstore has revealed that it’s also offering the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus—apparently at a lower cost.)

With D-Day, aka the September 19 availability of the much-talked-about Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in select countries, comes news of skyrocketing prices of the handsets.

The Philippines may not be included in their initial rollout, but that hasn’t stopped a few local online retailers from offering the latest iPhones ahead of the devices’ official launch here.

Case in point: Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus can be bought from the likes of Lazada Philippines, Widget City, and The Gadget Hub, with the smaller, 4.7-inch iPhone selling from P52,500 (on Widget) to as high as P83,616 (on Lazada) at this writing. That’s a far cry from its off-contract SRP of $649 (roughly P29,000) in the U.S.

The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, sets you back from P84,420 to—wait for it—a ridiculous P117,585 (both on Lazada). Take note that the lowest price is still more than double what the iPhone 6 Plus officially costs stateside ($849 or around P38,000).

The prices are obviously the result of the strong demand for the new iPhones and their limited availability.

They’re palatable only to wealthy Apple fans who are willing to pony up at least P50,000 to be one of the first iPhone 6 or (and?) iPhone 6 Plus users in the Philippines.

As for the rest of us? Well, we’ll just have to be contented with (largely) the same smartphone experience in iOS 8 while we wait for the planned local release of the new iPhones, which we’re guessing is some time in December. Between being the “first” and keeping our small fortune, we’ll happily choose the latter, thank you very much.