iPhone X is so expensive in India
iPhone X is so expensive in India that you can go to Hong Kong, buy it, come back and save money
http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/...1317015920.jpg
You must have heard that Apple has a new phone out. Actually, it has three phones out -- the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. The introductory prices of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus have gone up compared to the prices of the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone X, meanwhile, is a completely new iPhone -- and special one at that -- that comes with entirely new price tag. As expected the iPhone X in very expensive in India.
When it goes on sale in India on November 3, the iPhone X will cost Rs 89,000 for the 64GB version. The top-end variant with 256GB is going to cost Rs 102,000. In other words, this is one expensive phones, although you can say that the iPhone has always been expensive.
The other thing that you can say about the iPhone X is that it is cheaper in some other places. As it always happens, the market where the iPhone X is going to be the cheapest is probably Hong Kong. In fact, the iPhone X is so expensive in India, and so cheap in Hong Kong, that you can go Hong Kong, buy the phone, and come back and yet save some money. And this includes the cost of flight ticket to Hong Kong. Just see the math.
iPhone X (256GB) in India: Rs 102,000
iPhone X (256GB) in Hong Kong: Hong Kong Dollar 9,888. This means using the current exchange rate, in Indian currency the price is Rs 80,999.
What does this mean? It is cheaper to go to Hong Kong and buy the iPhone X 256Gb variant there.
The iPhone X will be available from November 3. Now, if you book your flight to Hong Kong today, the cheapest flight in the first week of November that you can book from Indian will cost around Rs 20,000. If you book a flight from Kolkata, you can get a return ticket to Hong Kong for little over rs 17,000. From Bangalore it is around Rs 19,000. From Delhi, around Rs 20,000. From Mumbai it is a little more expensive.
So, for example if you book the ticket from Kolkata, here is how much you will spend on getting the iPhone X from Hong Kong:
Flight ticket: Air Asia Rs 17,800
iPhone X 256GB: 80,999
Some other expenses: Around Rs 2000 to Rs 3000
Total: Around Rs 1 lakh
Money saved: Around Rs 2000
What about the iPhone X 64GB version. That is similar. Here is the math.
Flight ticket: Air Asia Rs 17,800
iPhone X 64GB: 70,300 (Hong Kong Dollar 8588)
Some other expenses: Around Rs 2000 to Rs 3000
Total: Around Rs 90,000
Now, we know the whole thing sounds like a joke. And in a way it is. No one is going to go specifically to Hong Kong from India to buy the iPhone. Also, it works best with the 256GB variant. But it does show the ridiculousness of the iPhone prices. and particularly the iPhone X prices, in India. Is it because Apple can't price the iPhone any cheaper? Is it because Apple wants big profit margins? Is it because of Indian government taxes? Is it because Apple wants to keep the iPhone prices high so that it continues to a status symbol in India? We don't know. Only Apple can answer these questions, if it wishes to answer them.
Also it is important to note that for Apple, the iPhone is a business. It sells all the iPhones it makes (the exception seems to be the iPhone SE) so obviously it can price the new iPhone at any price that consumers are willing to pay. And so far we have seen that consumers are willing to pay a lot of money to Apple for the iPhone.
