A luxury version of Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max is going viral online, but for Pakistani buyers, its price places it far beyond reach. At this level, it costs more than a house and, for many, more than a lifetime of phone upgrades.
Caviar, the Dubai-based luxury brand known for transforming mainstream gadgets into collector items, has listed the Daytona iPhone 17 Pro Max on its official website. The price for the 256GB variant starts at $196,360, which converts to around Rs5.49 crore in Pakistani rupees. The top-end 2TB model goes up to $197,790, or nearly Rs5.53 crore, excluding local taxes and PTA approval charges.
To put this price into perspective, the amount is enough to buy five brand-new Honda Civic 2026 models in Pakistan and still save around Rs5 million. At the same price, a buyer could also purchase a house in upscale areas of Lahore or Rawalpindi. For a smartphone, the numbers are almost unreal.
The Daytona edition draws its inspiration from the iconic Rolex Daytona watch collection, long associated with racing and speed. Rolex designed the Daytona line for professional drivers, with legendary motor racer Malcolm Campbell serving as its first ambassador. Campbell, famous for setting world ground speed records, symbolised pushing human limits, a theme Caviar says it has carried into the phone’s design.
The Rolex-inspired watch is not simply attached to the phone. Instead, it forms part of a broader artistic concept. The phone’s body takes cues from 1930s racing cars, including Campbell’s famous Blue Bird, which set speed records on the Daytona track. Gold-made decorative speedometers and switches give the phone the look of a vintage race car dashboard, paying tribute to the origins of the Rolex Daytona legacy.
While the Daytona edition sits at the extreme end of luxury, Caviar also offers a relatively “cheaper” option for those still curious. Under its Black Edition collection, the brand has redesigned the iPhone 17 Pro Max in a style that, when converted to Pakistani rupees, costs close to Rs3 million. This price again excludes taxes and PTA approval charges.
For comparison, a standard PTA-approved iPhone 17 Pro Max in Pakistan currently starts at around Rs570,000, already making it one of the most expensive smartphones available locally. Caviar’s versions, however, target collectors and luxury buyers rather than regular users.
The Black Edition was launched after Apple removed the classic black colour from the iPhone 17 Pro lineup, replacing it with shades like Cosmic Orange and Deep Blue. Caviar chose to bring black back through four models: Black is Back, Shadow, Spark and Obsidian Black Edition.
Each model features a matte black body made from aerospace-grade titanium, with a crocodile leather panel on the lower section. According to Caviar, anodising and PVD coating techniques were used to achieve a deep black finish similar to Apple’s earlier Black Titanium design.
The Obsidian Black Edition is the most exclusive of the four, featuring a darker and richer black tone throughout the body. Production is limited to just 99 units worldwide, while the other three variants are restricted to 19 units each.
Prices for the Black Edition start at $9,130, with the Spark model priced at $9,840, or about Rs2.76 million in PKR. The Shadow and Obsidian Black versions start at $10,410, translating to nearly Rs3 million. Reservations opened on January 28 through Caviar’s website, with each phone delivered in luxury packaging along with a collector’s coin and a gold-plated Caviar key.
For Pakistani buyers, these phones are less about everyday use and more about showcasing extreme wealth, where a smartphone becomes a status symbol rather than a tool.
