Some queued through the night, others slept in their cars as Dubai Mall became the go-to place for Apple super fans on their annual trek to buy the latest iPhone.
There may seem little difference in the iPhone 14 than previous incarnations of Apple’s signature product, yet shoppers were still prepared to hand over bundles of cash and queue for hours to be among the first owners.
One of those was Dr Mohannad K, 37, from Lebanon who has lived in Dubai for more than 30 years.
The dentist waited patiently in a long queue after arriving at the mall at around 4.30am.
I have my bag with Dh22,000 in cash ready. I arrived extra early, but the security would not let me in so I had to sleep in my car
Mohanned K,
dentist and Apple super fan
“I pre-ordered the iPhone and turned up at the mall at 4.30am,” he said.
“I have owned every iPhone since its launch, and used to import the early models from America.
“I have my bag with Dh22,000 in cash ready to buy some new tech. I already have the latest Apple Watch and TV.
“The purple colour was the one I wanted. I arrived extra early, but the security would not let me in so I had to sleep in my car.
“By 6.30am, everyone was queuing already so I had to run to make the line. It was a big rush at 7am.”
The latest devices are equipped with the Apple’s much-awaited satellite technology, and in the case of the iPhone 14 Pro, the new A16 bionic chip, which Apple claims is the fastest chip ever in a smartphone.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone Pro will come with a 6.1-inch screen, while the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max will have 6.7-inch displays.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models start from $799 (Dh3,399) and $899 (Dh3,799), respectively, while the iPhone 14 Pro costs $999 (Dh4,299) and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099 (Dh4,699). Trade-in will be available at Apple stores.
First to get through the doors of Apple’s flagship store in Dubai Mall was Abdul Rafeeque, a 37-year-old IT manager who spent Dh25,000 on six iPhones to send back to his family in India.
“When I found out I had an appointment to buy the phone I was so happy,” he said.
“I have tried every year and this was the first year I have got a spot. I use all the Apple products, so I wanted to be in the front of the queue.
“I work in IT, but I need the new phone to get the better camera and the big screen. I love photographer and I have 75,000 photos.”
Mr Rafeeque has documented each of his new purchases on their release day of the latest iPhone since 2016.
“You can tell be the images that the camera has got better each year,” he said.
“I woke up at 4.30am, did all my work preparations and had breakfast then came down here.
“I tried to get the Pro Max as I need it for my cryptocurrency trading as it has a much better battery life.
“The other phones are for my family.”
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
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