“Apple Inc.’s new iPhone SE goes on sale in India on Friday, and it’s not cheap,” Sean McLain reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“The company announced its cheapest-ever iPhone at its California headquarters last month, saying the four-inch device would go on sale for $399 in the U.S. With tax, the price of the phone is around $430 in most U.S. states, compared with 39,000 rupees ($586) including taxes in India, a 36% premium over the U.S. price,” McLain reports. “The high cost augurs poorly for sales of the iPhone SE in India. While the company said the guts of an iPhone 6S – Apple’s most recent flagship phone – would be contained in the body of the smaller SE, the size of the device and its price will likely limit its appeal for Indian consumers, analysts say.”
“Most Indians prefer larger screens, like the ones found on the iPhone 6 and 6S, because a smartphone is often their only computer. Apple may also struggle to compete with its own earlier models in India. A 16-gigabyte iPhone 6 sells for as little as 35,000 rupees on various e-commerce websites,” McLain reports. “‘At this price it’s competing against the iPhone 6,’ said Kiranjeet Kaur, an analyst at International Data Corp.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Once Apple opens its own retail stores in India, as opposed to going through resellers, iPhone prices will come down across the board.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Prices here in Portugal:
16GB: 499€ (±568.68USD)
64GB: 599€ (±682.64USD)
In part I understand that the prices here can/should be a bit higher than on US due to the longer mandatory 2 years warranty, but I so…
MDN: Once Apple opens its own retail stores in India…
Actually, there is a high duty rate since iPhones aren’t manufactured in India….
Exactly. Without any mention of how much tax or import duty is added locally, the headline figure of the price paid in any given country is meaningless when compared to the US price.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that India is a country where people like to display their success. With a population varying from utter poverty to fabulous wealth, being able to easily signal your position along that spectrum is convenient. A premium phone that everybody knows is expensive can become a very desirable object as a status symbol. For such people, the price isn’t the major factor when buying.
Well Mr Wall Street Journal writer have you heard the dollar is way up compared to foreign currency? Headwinds they call it. Geez, what a maroon.
The sad facts are that politicians around the world find ways to steal from (or tax) the ‘rich’ companies to fund their own bank accounts or political ambitions.
Any country in which personal income tax is impractical tends to have significantly higher import duties. The money has to come from somewhere.
Latest Apple iPhone SE 20,000rupee & Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE 33,000rupee
Brand new Original Apple iphone 6s plus 64gb rose Gold with 1year warranty.
Serious buyer should contant us.
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