The best iPhone shop in Nairobi CBD right now is iPhone Deals at Kimathi House, Kimathi Street, Suite 404, for one reason most “best of” lists skip: they let you test the actual phone against its IMEI and warranty terms before you pay, not after. Right down the same corridor, on the same 4th floor of Kimathi House, Shwari Phones (Suite 409) runs a close second with a wider spread of models and online ordering. Rounding out the top five are iStore Kenya, Salute iWorld, and Phone Place Kenya, three shops worth knowing if a brand-new unit with a manufacturer warranty matters more to you than price.
This list is built for one job: helping you walk away with a genuine iPhone, at a fair price, backed by a warranty someone will actually honor. Every shop below is named because it’s real and checkable, not because it paid for the spot. Where two shops are genuinely close on price, we say so.
If you searched for the top rated iPhone shops near me and landed here from Nairobi CBD, the five below are the ones worth your time, ranked on what actually matters once you’re standing in the shop with your money out.
Table of Contents
Quick answer: which shop fits you
| If you want… | Go to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The widest range of Ex-UK and refurbished iPhones, tested before you pay, with repairs under the same roof | iPhone Deals | Pre-purchase testing, IMEI check, in-house repair desk, nationwide delivery |
| The same Ex-UK/renewed category, more flagship stock (iPhone 17 line), online checkout | Shwari Phones | Full catalogue from iPhone 7 to iPhone 17 Pro Max, trade-in program, same-day Nairobi delivery |
| A brand-new iPhone with Apple’s own manufacturer warranty | iStore Kenya or Salute iWorld | Authorized Apple reseller status, new stock only |
| A new iPhone on an installment plan with no deposit | Phone Place Kenya | “Save Now, Chukua Later” 0% plan alongside the deposit-based Lipa Pole Pole option |
1. iPhone Deals, Kimathi House
Where: 4th Floor, Suite 404, Kimathi House, Kimathi Street, Nairobi CBD. Open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm, Sunday 9am to 6pm.
iPhone Deals sells New, Refurbished, Ex-UK, and Used grade iPhones side by side, with the condition stated upfront on every listing rather than buried in a spec sheet. Every phone comes with a 6-month warranty covering network, charging, earpiece, microphone, speaker, and software faults, plus a 1-month accessory warranty. The warranty does not cover a cracked screen, and sales are final, same terms most Ex-UK dealers in this market work under, so this isn’t a point where iPhone Deals is uniquely generous. Repairs, when something does go wrong, turn around in up to 72 hours.
What actually separates this shop from the rest of the list: you check the phone yourself, IMEI and all, while you’re standing in the shop, before any money changes hands. That single step is the difference between “trust us” and “see for yourself,” and it’s the step most fake-iPhone complaints in Nairobi trace back to skipping. Buyers outside Nairobi order by WhatsApp (0747 881573) and get the same inspection done on video before dispatch, with delivery nationwide through Wells Fargo or Leta Pelela couriers.
Screen repair pricing is public and specific rather than “call for quote”: iPhone 12 and 12 Pro at Ksh. 11,000, iPhone 12 Pro Max at Ksh. 13,000, with a full price table covering iPhone X through the 17 series on the repair pages.
Honest trade-off: iPhone Deals does not carry brand-new, sealed iPhones, Apple’s own warranty only applies to units Apple itself activated as new, which neither iPhone Deals nor any Ex-UK dealer on this list offers. If a manufacturer warranty specifically is the deciding factor, see iStore Kenya or Salute iWorld below.
2. Shwari Phones, Kimathi House
Where: 4th Floor, Suite 409, Kimathi House, Kimathi Street, Nairobi (info@shwariphones.africa, +254 705 820 082).
Yes, Shwari Phones is one door down from iPhone Deals, same building, same floor. That makes this an easy one to check in person: walk the fourth floor and compare both before you decide.
Shwari Phones brands itself “Africa’s Premium Renewed Tech Marketplace” and backs that with real range, its catalogue runs the full iPhone line from a Ksh. 7,490 iPhone 7 up to the iPhone 17 Pro Max at Ksh. 165,000 to 210,000, alongside Samsung, OnePlus, Google Pixel, iPads, and MacBooks. It also runs a trade-in desk (up to Ksh. 45,000 quoted toward a new purchase) and a Lipa Pole Pole installment option, and the whole catalogue is browsable and orderable online, with delivery stated as same-day within Nairobi and 1 to 2 business days elsewhere.
On warranty, the two shops are close to identical. Shwari Phones’ published Return & Warranty Policy (last updated August 2026) gives 6 months against functional defects, excludes accessories, excludes misuse and unauthorized repairs, and commits to a replacement or refund if a warranty repair runs past 72 hours. Sales are final, same as iPhone Deals.
On price, several models track within a few hundred shillings of each other. iPhone Deals’ iPhone 14 128GB is confirmed live at Ksh. 49,000 against Shwari Phones’ listed Ksh. 49,500 starting price for the same model, and the two shops’ iPhone 12 Pro Max pricing matches exactly at Ksh. 55,000 to 58,000. Neither shop has a clear, consistent price edge, so if price alone is your filter, it’s worth checking both listings the week you buy.
What tips it to #2 rather than a tie: everything on Shwari Phones’ site is “starting at,” with the specific grade and condition disclosed only once you open a listing, where iPhone Deals states the condition (New, Refurbished, Ex-UK, Used) on the shop floor before you commit, and lets you watch the IMEI check happen. For a purchase this size, that’s worth the one extra flight of stairs down the same corridor.
3. iStore Kenya, Bazaar Plaza
Where: Bazaar Plaza, Moi Avenue, Nairobi CBD.
iStore Kenya shows up in Google’s local listings as an Apple Authorised Reseller & Service Provider, and if brand-new, factory-sealed Apple hardware with Apple’s own international warranty is the priority, this is the category of shop to use, not an Ex-UK dealer. The trade-off is the one you’d expect: new-unit pricing, which runs well above any Ex-UK or renewed listing on this page for the same model. If you’ve been comparing Ex-UK iPhone 14 prices around Ksh. 49,000 to 55,000 on this list, expect a new iPhone 14-class device from an authorized reseller to cost meaningfully more, that gap is the price of a factory-new unit and Apple’s own warranty, not a sign the Ex-UK shops are hiding something.
4. Salute iWorld, multiple locations
Where: Nine stores across Kenya, including Garden City Mall, Westgate, The Junction, Yaya Centre, and JKIA Terminal 1A.
Salute iWorld is another Authorized Apple reseller, with a wider physical footprint than any single-location shop on this list, nine stores rather than one, so it’s worth including for readers outside the CBD specifically. It also runs its own 0% interest installment plan over 90 days.
One thing worth knowing before you go: in July 2026, media reports claimed Salute iWorld’s parent company had been placed under receivership, a claim the company publicly and specifically denied the same month, stating all nine stores remained open and trading normally. We’re not taking a side on a dispute that isn’t ours to settle, just flagging that it was in the news recently so you can factor it in or ask in-store if it matters to you.
5. Phone Place Kenya, Bazaar Plaza
Where: Bazaar Plaza, Mezzanine 1, Unit 5, Moi Avenue, Nairobi CBD.
Phone Place Kenya sells new smartphones, including current iPhone models, directly off their own listed pricing (an iPhone 16e, for example, listed at Ksh. 75,000 at the time of this research). What earns it a spot here over several other new-stock sellers is the financing: alongside a standard deposit-based Lipa Pole Pole plan (10 to 40 percent interest depending on term, 30 to 120 days, requires payslip/KRA PIN/ID), they also offer a “Save Now, Chukua Later” plan.
That second plan runs at 0% interest, no deposit required, paid down over up to 6 months through their paybill, and it applies to iPhones. If a 0% plan with no deposit at all is what you need and a brand-new unit is non-negotiable, this is the shop on this list built for that.
How to check an iPhone is genuine before you pay
Kenya has seen a real rise in convincing iPhone clones, so this is worth doing regardless of which shop you buy from:
- Check coverage directly with Apple. Go to Settings > General > About on the phone, find the serial number, and enter it at checkcoverage.apple.com. A real iPhone returns a model and activation status. No result, or a result that doesn’t match what you’re holding, is a hard stop.
- Look at the build, not just the screen. A genuine Apple logo on the back is metal, not printed, and the SIM tray sits flush with the frame.
- Open Siri and the App Store directly. Clone units often run a modified Android shell dressed up to look like iOS, so a clone frequently substitutes a voice assistant or app store that isn’t Apple’s.
- Connect it to a computer. A genuine iPhone is recognized instantly by Finder (or iTunes on older machines). A clone either isn’t recognized at all or shows up as an Android device underneath the skin.
- Ask for the IMEI check on the spot, at the shop, before you pay, the same step iPhone Deals builds into its sale. If a seller won’t let you do this before money changes hands, that alone is reason to walk.
Our own guide on spotting a fake iPhone and how to run an IMEI check go further into both of these, with screenshots of what a genuine result looks like.
Financing: Lipa Pole Pole and similar plans, shop by shop
“Lipa Pole Pole” isn’t one single product, every shop above that offers it structures it differently, so don’t assume the terms carry over between stores:
| Shop | Plan | Deposit | Interest | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone Deals | Lipa Mdogo Mdogo (see our full breakdown) | Varies by device | Confirm in-store | Confirm in-store |
| Shwari Phones | Lipa Pole Pole | Not publicly stated | Not publicly stated | Not publicly stated |
| Phone Place Kenya | Lipa Pole Pole (standard) | 10 to 40% | 10 to 40% | 30 to 120 days |
| Phone Place Kenya | Save Now, Chukua Later | None | 0% | Up to 6 months |
| Salute iWorld | Lipa Polepole | Not publicly stated | 0% (per Google’s AI Overview summary of Salute iWorld’s offer) | 90 days |
Where a cell says “not publicly stated,” that’s deliberate, we didn’t find exact terms published for that shop at the time of writing, and we’d rather tell you to ask in-store than guess at a number that could be wrong by the time you read this.
Bringing a phone into Kenya yourself vs. buying locally
If you’re weighing importing an iPhone yourself against buying from any shop on this list: Kenya has, over the past two years, been rolling out stricter device registration and import-tax rules through KRA, and the exact requirements have shifted more than once in that window. Rather than quote a rule here that may be out of date by the time you read it, the safe move is to check KRA’s current guidance directly before you import, and to remember that none of the above applies when you buy from a shop already operating in Kenya, the import and registration step is the seller’s problem, not yours.
FAQ
Where to buy a genuine iPhone in Nairobi? Any of the five best iPhone shops in Nairobi CBD above will sell you a genuine device, but only iPhone Deals and Shwari Phones let you verify the IMEI yourself on the shop floor before paying, the step that actually rules out a clone.
Where is the best store to buy an iPhone in Nairobi CBD? For an Ex-UK or renewed iPhone with the phone tested in front of you before you pay, iPhone Deals at Kimathi House. For a brand-new unit with Apple’s manufacturer warranty, iStore Kenya or Salute iWorld.
Which store has the best iPhone deals? On Ex-UK and renewed pricing, iPhone Deals and Shwari Phones track each other closely model for model, both are worth checking the same week you buy since either can be ahead by a small margin depending on the exact model and storage size.
How do I know if I’m buying an original iPhone? Run the serial number through checkcoverage.apple.com, check that the Apple logo and SIM tray are metal, confirm Siri and the App Store are genuinely Apple’s, and insist on an IMEI check in the shop before you pay. See the full walkthrough above.
Is Ex-UK the same as refurbished? No, and the difference matters for your warranty expectations. Our dedicated explainer covers what each condition grade actually means on a Kenyan retailer’s shelf.
What is the best iPhone to buy right now on a tight budget? Depends entirely on your budget band. Our budget-by-price guide breaks this down model by model rather than naming one phone for everyone.
Which store is best for iPhone repairs, not just purchase? iPhone Deals runs sales and repairs from the same Kimathi House location, with public pricing for the full iPhone X through 17 range on the repair hub.
Sources and further reading
- Shwari Phones, official site, pricing, warranty policy, and contact details confirmed directly from the live site, October 2026.
- Phone Place Kenya, Lipa Pole Pole page, financing terms confirmed directly.
- Salute iWorld receivership denial, Eastleigh Voice, July 2026.
- Fake iPhone identification methods, Eastleigh Voice.
- KRA device registration rules, KRA facts page, confirm current terms directly with KRA before relying on this for an import.