The new iPhone 14 and 14 Pro will be available to pre-order on the Apple website in a few days and if you don’t want to wait for it to officially launch in Kuwait, you can pre-order the phone from Apple directly.
There are two things you need, a US forwarding address like Shop&Ship or MyUS, and a US Apple Store account.
US Forwarding Mailbox
This is something you most likely have already, if not you can get an account by visiting myus.com or shopandship.com and signing up for one. When ordering from Apple.com I always prefer to use MyUS due to the fact the mailbox is located in Florida and so all the items you purchase from Apple are tax free. The amount I save on tax I use to pay for shipping. Last year I paid 16KD to ship the phone from my MyUS mailbox to Kuwait using FedEx 1-3 Days Priority. If you don’t mind waiting there are cheaper shipping options available as well.
US Apple Store Account
Unlike what a lot of people think, you don’t need to have a US credit card to order from the Apple.com website. I have an account that uses my Shop&Ship address as my billing address and my NBK credit card for payments, and I have no issues purchasing laptops and phones from the website and shipping them to my MyUS address. I’ve been doing this for years now and just a couple of weeks back ordered the new MacBook Air that way.
Is it cheaper to buy the iPhone from the US? Yeah, it is. Depending on which iPhone you’re thinking of buying it could be a bit cheaper (and not really worth it) or a lot cheaper. Not only that but you could actually make a bit of money buying an iPhone by reselling it in Kuwait for more than what you paid for since demand, in the beginning, will be a lot higher than availability.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.
53 replies on “How to buy an iPhone 14 from Apple.com”
I thought Apple started declining orders that are made to ship to mail forwarding services?
Apple is not accepting orders for ShopandShip accounts from HongKong. Hence if you are looking for a physical SIM card, your options are limited.
I think apple stopped doing that years ago because I remember at one point maybe during the early years of the iPhone when apple was canceling orders but hasn’t happened to me since.
Please also post how I can buy an iPhone 6 (4 GB) from apple.com
🤭🫁💸📈🤷🏻♂️
You might need to check on the compatibility, specifically for the iPhones from the US store because it seems like they don’t have a Sim Card Slot.
They work in Kuwait, you don’t need a sim card slot you can just use esim
Not all providers in Kuwait offer esim especially for prepaid lines.
Which provider doesn’t have esim? I just googled STC and ooredoo and both say they have esim and i know Zain has cuz I’m using it.
Just FYI to anyone possibly ordering from the US, the US version won’t have a physical sim tray. I’m not sure on if E-Sims are used here or not, haven’t heard or seen anything so be wary of that issue, because it kind of is a big deal.
Yup, all local telecoms have esims, i use an esim with Zain.
Is the process of converting the current SIM to e-SIM a straightforward process in Kuwait?
You can’t believe how insanely easy it is to do it. You can do it right now in a matter of seconds on your iPhone without going to a branch or calling anyone. It will convert your physical sim to an esim and you can throw you physical sim in the garbage.
Follow the instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212780
More specifically, scroll down to “Use eSIM Quick Transfer” and follow the instructions.
Convert a physical SIM to an eSIM on the same iPhone
You can convert a physical SIM to an eSIM on the same iPhone, if your carrier supports it. Follow these steps:
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Cellular.
Tap Convert to eSIM.
If you don’t see Convert to eSIM, your carrier doesn’t support this option. Contact your carrier to move your phone number from your physical SIM to an eSIM using eSIM Carrier Activation or by scanning a QR code.
Tap Convert Cellular Plan.
Tap Convert to eSIM.
Wait for your eSIM to activate. Your previous SIM card is deactivated when the cellular plan on your iPhone activates.
Remove the physical SIM from your iPhone. Then restart your iPhone.
If you are using Ooredoo its extremely easy.
Just open the Ooredoo App, click settings and activate E-SIM, It will send request to Kuwait Mobile ID for verification and that’s it, you are done.
You can do that multiple time (if you switch phones a lot) without even needing to visit their physical store.
Just did this recently, can confirm this is accurate and very easy to do with Ooredoo.
Will there be a significant difference in price for the iPhones 14 sold in Kuwait vs US prices?
How much was it last year for 13s?
Yes it will always be more expensive in Kuwait, however this is especially true for the first few weeks. You can get a 256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max and an Apple Watch Ultra on launch day from apple.com for exactly $2,000. In Kuwait you would not get them for less than $3,000 for the first 6 weeks or so. So yes it can save a ton if you want it now. If however you want to wait till December to buy it, by then the price deferential will be small.
The fact that your Kuwaiti credit card uses a US address is certainly unique, and I’m not entirely sure if this will work with other banks or if even NBK will still do this its local clients. It might even come down to how cooperative/smart the employee you are dealing with is.
What about if like most people here you just have a Kuwaiti card with a Kuwaiti address? Will apple.com refuse your order?
My billing address is a Kuwaiti address, I just put my shop and ship address as my billing address on apple
OH ok. Got it!
what about the sim’less iphones of the US ? heard they wont be having a sim tray ? any idea
U don’t need a physical SIM card in Kuwait anymore, all carriers have esim
I buy my Apple products for Apple UAE store. They accept my Kuwaiti MasterCard, and use Dubai Shop & Ship address for shipping. Pretty good experience and faster shipping time (1-3 days compared to 5-10 days with USA).
Another advantage is that the products are made for GCC (Wall plugs, Arabic Keyboard Macs, iPhone with sim slots & compatible 5G bands… etc)
The downside is that its more expensive than the US store.
I don’t think there is any advantage buying from the UAE store. They have tax over there plus you pay for shipping. Kuwait and UAE retail prices are very similar if not exactly the same.
Just checked, entry MacBook Air m2 costs 420kd on apple.ae and 430kd here. Shipping it is more than 10kd so cheaper to buy it here.
Yes that’s true, if you add the shipping costs its slightly more expensive. But at least you get the product early after launch.
For the M2 MacBook Air example, it took more than a month after the official release date to become available in Kuwait. And you can’t customize it (eg. more RAM, or larger storage) you are stuck with the basic configuration that the dealer has decided is suitable for Kuwait.
I appreciate the flexibility of the Apple store, and don’t like waiting with no ETA on when the new product will finally be released in Kuwait. So I end up paying few extra KDs for Aramex and get it almost immediately after it’s official release date.
This option is not meant for everyone. For the average consumer who’s not that Apple enthusiastic or tech savvy, better deals always exist in the local market.
In case you weren’t aware though, you can order macs with Arabic keyboards from the US Apple Store as well. They let you choose what keyboard you want.
Really? Must be a new thing. I haven’t been to the US Apple store in ages. The language selection used to be English, French, and Spanish back in the day.
you can order from usa store with arabic keyboard
Thanks for the post mark.
Any idea How many phones we can buy with our NBK credit card?
I think they limit to maximum 2 iphone per card.
Hmmm no idea honestly cuz I’ve only ever bought just one at a time
just a heads up for everyone thinking of purchasing iphone from apple USA website.
1. USA version is only E-sim (some people know how easy it is to convert but its not that there is an issue if your traveling for extended period some countries doesnt offer esim)
2. orders from the website takes 4-5 weeks for apple to ship your iphone + about a week to arrive to a forwarding shipping company + 4-7 days shipping to kuwait so total waiting will be 7 weeks (2 months).
3. you can pre-order from authorized sellers 16/9 and pick it up on 23/9. there is a price gap & it will come sim + esim.
4. reselling usa version in kuwait wont be as profitable as before since most people in kuwait are still comfortable with using sim card.
It doesn’t take 4-5 weeks for Apple to ship your iPhone if you order early enough. Here is my timeline from last year:
Order placed on September 17
Order shipped September 24
Order arrived to my mailbox September 28th
Order shipped from my mailbox September 29th
Order arrived to Kuwait October 3rd
So around 2 weeks from placing the order to receiving the iPhone in Kuwait.
is your Apple ID US or KW ? mine is US and won’t let me change billing address to any other country so had to use a US cc.
US
Any idea if it’s cheaper to get the new Apple Watch in the UK or Kuwait?
In terms of prices, US is cheaper than Kuwait, Kuwait is cheaper than Europe
What about customs and duty charges?
Since it’s significantly cheaper to have it shipped from the US than buying locally, why wouldn’t most people just do that?
Ive always believed that the custom charges would be ridiculously high, which is what prevented people from buying directly from Apple.
I’m really hoping that I’m wrong. Can somebody please provide some insight?
No customs on phones
Hi mark! I paid 60$ taxes for Florida, as mine is a MyUS forwarding address.. then shipping by aramex.. and an additional payment of 22kd when I received it! Don’t think it was worth it.. I bought a iPhone14pro.. totally to around 365kd.. not much of a difference..sheesh..
128GB, forgot to mention that..
This post is from back when we wouldn’t pay tax when shipping to Florida
My iPhone 12 is rocking 2 active eSims. I have switched to the eSim life way before the iPhone 14 was even a thing and never looked back. Both my carriers, Ooredoo and Zain offer them.
The lack of a sim card slot can be a big deal for some people especially for those who travel frequently since not every carrier overseas offer eSim like in China.
Or just buy it from gait? Price difference is like 30 KD with tax. Pro max 256GB is 440 KWD and its $1350 with tax on apples website.
You don’t pay tax if you ship to MyUS so price difference is closer to 70KD. Check my previous post from last year comparing local and US prices.
I am being charged tax even when i chose MyUS address. I tried to proceed to checkout still it show the tax amount. Can you please advise what i need to change.
Hi Mark, is there any update on Apple Pay? Heard will be available by next month, is it true?
No haven’t heard anything yet
https://www.indiansinkuwait.com/news/Apple-Pay-to-launch-in-Kuwait-next-month
anyone succeeded with myus this year when ordering from apple store(US), I tried last year, order cancelled twice.
Hi Mark, i was trying to purchase 14pro max from apple store through MyUs account but still 75$ tax is included. Do you have any idea about this as Florida is a tax free state
Nope no idea