Preorder sales for Apple’s new iPhone 7 will begin on Sept. 16 in Qatar, Ooredoo has announced.

The devices can be ordered in Ooredoo stores and online, and will officially go on sale starting Sept. 24, the state’s largest telecom provider said in a statement.

Responding to questions on Facebook, Ooredoo said the price of the phones will be announced on Sept. 16.

In the US, pre-order sales began today, and the phones start at $649 (QR2,363) for the 7 and start at $769 (QR2,800) for the 7 Plus.

The new 7 and 7 Plus are being billed as water- and dust-resistant. They also have a 12-megapixel camera on the back of the phone, and 7- megapixel camera on the front.

The phones also have no headphone jack, so users will need to plug their earbuds into the charging port instead. An adaptor is available for those who wish to use old earbuds.

Alternatively, customers can separately buy a wireless headset starting in October.

Faster launch

Qatar will get the new phones only a week after the iPhone becomes available in many other nations, including the US and UAE.

According to analysts, Apple is picking up the pace to help eliminate the “gray market” created when people in other countries have to wait months to get its new phones.

Speaking to the National, Mike Priest, editor of Stuff magazine Middle East, said:

“It means consumers will get the phone virtually at the same time as the US and at pretty much the same price. I think the days of huge markups on imported iPhones is probably a thing of the past.”

That said, the new devices are marked up some QR200-QR300 in the UAE’s online Apple store, which is taking pre-orders from today.

Thoughts?