We all knew that the iPhone is a premium product here in India. But how does the Indian pricing of the iPhone compare to other markets across the globe? Are we Indians just complaining for the sake of it or is Apple really pricing it very high? Well, folks from over at MobileUnlocked decided to find out. Their findings spanned research data from over 47 countries in native currencies with native sales tax taken in to account as well. All these 47 markets were countries where the iPhone 5S recently went on sale.
After researching on official prices across the globe, they found that the cheapest iPhone 5S (16 GB) is priced at $707.41 in the US. The most expensive iPhone according to the study in absolute pricing is in Jordan where the 16GB iPhone 5S costs £1091.01. This is 54% more expensive than the price of the same device in the US. In India, the 16 GB version of the iPhone is priced at $857.76 which is not affordable by any standards. Measured in absolute terms, India finds itself as the 30th most expensive market for the iPhone 5S.
Like I said, this is the absolute price of the iPhone compared. This however is not really an accurate way to measure affordability. This would look more balanced if the purchasing power parity (PPP) index of these countries are bought in to the picture. The PPP index will point toward disparities and exchange rates and provide a more accurate local perspective pertaining to affordability of the iPhone 5. The results were not surprising at all.
India leads the pack here because its price of $857 translates to 22.3 percent of per capita GDP. This is the highest recorded amongst all 47 countries surveyed. Vietnam is second with the iPhone 5S costing 19.8% of per capita GDP. Jordan, unsurprisingly stands at third place with 18.3% of GDP per capita.
In all, it is clear that the you are paying more for the iPhone 5S here in India than any other country on earth, currently!
