Last month, the government of India had hiked the rate of GST on smartphones 18 percent from 12 percent. Now the new rate has come into effect from April 1st making smartphones more expensive than before. Almost every manufacturer including Xiaomi, OPPO, Samsung, Apple and more have announced new prices of their devices. They are reflected on the brand’s official websites as well as online and offline stores in the country. The depreciating Indian rupee against US dollar is one of the factors of the price hike. The move also comes at a difficult time as the country is suffering from the economic slowdown and the coronavirus pandemic.
We have created a list including new and old prices of every brand’s smartphone in the gallery below:
Almost every budget and mid-range smartphone by Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Samsung and Realme have received a price hike of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. Samsung and Apple have also increased the price of their premium products by up to Rs 10,000. Notably, every RAM and storage configuration of a device has received a price hike.
Smartphone manufacturers in India offer their products at an aggressive price making it a cut-throat competition between brands. It’s worth noting that apart from existing smartphones, upcoming devices will also carry a higher price tag than what brands usually price them due to the GST hike. Additionally, the new GST rate is permanent and the increased prices won’t be rolled back, however, consumers can expect a price drop on older devices.
The increased prices ultimately lead to buyers paying more for smartphones and it remains to be seen how the consumer market reacts to this.
