Apple’s high-end iPhone models are some of the most expensive smartphones you can buy. The mobile manufacturers are coming up with new models of smartphones having newly added features on a regular basis in order to attract customers but there is no doubt that buying an iPhone is a dream of many Indian smartphone users which goes unfulfilled due to its high price.
But, one who has the craze for iPhone will never think about the premium prices. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that India is one of the most expensive countries when it comes to buying iPhones.
If you go to Angola, you can buy an iPhone, at a price which is cheaper than anywhere else all across the globe. In Angola, Africa, you can get the latest iPhone for the cheapest price in the whole world which is very less when compared to other countries. This is because the taxes on consumer products are very low.
Thus, raises a question in our mind that, why iPhones are costly in India? Or rather say, why iPhones are costly in India compared to other countries?
Recently, iPhone 8 and 8 plus have been launched on 29th September while iPhone X will be launched on November 3. Now if we talk about the price of iPhone X, its 64 GB version will be priced at $999 and 256 GB version at $1149 in the USA which can be termed as the cheapest price all over the world.
iPhone X is the most expensive in Russia as for its 64 GB version, customers need to pay 79,990 or $1,390.30 and India is going to be the second expensive with $1376.96 (Rs. 89,000).
Let us discuss these price variations on iPhones. There are few factors why iPhone is being costly in India. They are Tax structure, Weaker Indian currency, Third party involvement, and manufacturing in India.
Tax Structure:
Import of iPhone is not classified under the same code. For example chargers, headphones and other accessories fall under different codes, and thus, have different duty rates. Apart from this, once a complete iPhone has passed from custom by paying all the duties, there are many other taxes according to different states.
They are compelled to increase the prices to earn the profit and hence, in the end, it is the customer who pays more for the same thing which he could have got at a low price, provided that there were not so many taxes.
Depreciation Of Indian Rupee:
This might be one of the primary reasons why iPhones are costlier in India compared to rest of the world. The Indian rupee has experienced a serious depreciation against US dollar over few years. The cost itself is converted from USD to INR, and thus, lower value of currency makes iPhone comparatively costlier.
Third Party Involvement:
Apple doesn’t have any store in India and presently, it is selling through third-party electronic stores and resellers. This increases the price of iPhone as Apple needs to pay these third-parties their share as well.
Ever since Foxconn has announced its plan to open iPhone manufacturing plant in India, consumers here have gone gaga over the dream of getting cheaper iPhones. But this could be a distant dream for Indians as nothing of that sort happened recently. On the contrary, India is the most expensive place to buy iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, according to a report.
Manufacturing In India:
As Indian government is promoting “Make in India” if Apple sets up a manufacturing plant in India, it will result in low prices for customers as the import duties on imported mobiles is pretty high.
So, these are few factors that we found the reasons for iPhones high prices. If you guys think there are other reasons, please let us know in the comments section below.