iPhone in India
Inference- Apple selling in India at 43% higher than USA
Last week my friend in India happened to tell me that he is about to buy an iPhone 11 for 131,000 INR, immediately the currency exchange math started in my mind and the difference is quite shocking. It has been a while since Indians were waiting for such an opportunity where they could buy their own iPhone and not depend on their friends and family returning from US to get them their favorite phone. This year Apple started their online purchase and delivery within India, typically either full payment, monthly installments or on credit.
I conducted myself a simple experiment by visiting Apple website and simply changing the country at the bottom and checked the price for their latest iPhone 11 pro max , 6.5 Inch display with 256 GB memory. It is surprising that the same product is higher in every other country than USA. All the prices were in local currency, after converting back to USD it was surprising to see the difference in prices.
| Price in USA | $ 1,249.00 | ||
| Country | USD Price | Difference | % |
| India | $ 1,789.00 | $ 540.00 | 43% |
| Phillipines | $ 1,713.15 | $ 464.15 | 37% |
| France | $ 1,678.02 | $ 429.02 | 34% |
| UK | $ 1,669.99 | $ 420.99 | 34% |
| New Zealand | $ 1,614.87 | $ 365.87 | 29% |
| Australia | $ 1,532.41 | $ 283.41 | 23% |
| Dubai | $ 1,434.56 | $ 185.56 | 15% |
| Hong Kong | $ 1,393.41 | $ 144.41 | 12% |
| Mexico | $ 1,381.84 | $ 132.84 | 11% |
I was quite shocked to see India at 43% higher. It will be very exciting to see the sales for this phone in coming few days. The love for this product is so much that people are willing to go on credit to buy this device especially when it is sold at 131,000 INR before taxes which is equivalent of $1,789 , a whopping $540 more than what is being sold in USA. Million dollar question is would Indians put a blind eye to this difference and will continue to buy or continue to opt in for a cheaper android phones. This difference of $540 is nothing but a one way ticket between USA and India. The price is way too high especially for Indian market, especially when Foxconn who is Apple’s major supplier of the device has already begun its iPhone assembling in Chennai, India this year. The reason for this spike in price is yet to be figured out but experts believe it is because of increase in basic customs duty and withdrawal of earlier exemption BCD/Social welfare surcharges as announced by the government of India in union budget (2020-21)
Just hoping the prices to drop down in the near to late future. With increased production within the country and higher local consumers ,it possibly will be lower than the current price.