"Must-Buy Overseas?"... Foldable iPhone Up to $460 More Expensive in Korea, How Much Is It?

Nukeni Compares iPhone Duo Prices in USD

U.S. 256GB Model Lowest at $1,999

Türkiye 2TB Model Highest at $6,928

Apple's first foldable smartphone, the 'iPhone Duo', has shown significant variations in price depending on the country and region where it is released. The base 256GB model was the least expensive in the U.S. region with the lowest sales tax, at $1,999. In Korea, the same model was priced at approximately $2,459, making it the 13th cheapest among the regions compared. However, as the storage capacity increases, Korea's relative price competitiveness improves, with the 2TB model ranking as the 8th cheapest region.

Image to aid in understanding the article. Pixabay

According to Nukenni, a market research firm, on September 11, the world's lowest price for the iPhone Duo 256GB was found in the U.S. region with the lowest sales tax. Nukenni used the noon exchange rate from the previous day to convert the Apple Store prices in each country to U.S. dollars. As a result, the price in the U.S. lowest-tax region was $1,999.

The highest-tax region in the U.S. followed at around $2,229, with Hong Kong close behind at about $2,232. Since the U.S. and Canada have varying sales tax rates depending on the region, both the lowest- and highest-tax regions were calculated separately in the survey.

Canada's lowest-tax region came next at $2,280, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at $2,314, Malaysia at $2,335, Taiwan at $2,376, Japan at $2,377, China at $2,384, and Thailand at $2,429. Singapore was at $2,452, New Zealand at $2,456, and Korea was recorded at approximately $2,459.

When comparing Korea to lower-cost regions, the price gap with the U.S. lowest-tax region was the largest at around $460. The U.S. highest-tax region was about $231 cheaper, Hong Kong $228, Canada's lowest-tax region $179, the UAE $145, and Malaysia $124 less expensive. Taiwan was $83 cheaper, Japan $82, China $75, Thailand $30, Singapore $7, and New Zealand by $4.

Conversely, the price was higher than Korea in Switzerland ($2,471), Canada's highest-tax region ($2,498), Vietnam ($2,510), Australia ($2,526), and the Philippines ($2,559). In India, the price was about $3,150, while Brazil reached $4,310, and Turkiye recorded the highest price at $4,742. The 256GB model price in Turkiye was more than double that in the U.S. lowest-tax region.

Korean Price Competitiveness Improves with Larger Capacity

An interesting finding is that Korea's relative price ranking changes depending on the storage capacity. For the 512GB model, the U.S. lowest-tax region offered the cheapest price at $2,199. In Korea, the price was converted to approximately $2,684, placing it 11th out of the regions compared.

Similarly, for the 1TB model, the U.S. lowest-tax region recorded the lowest price at $2,599, followed by the U.S. highest-tax region, Hong Kong, Canada's lowest-tax region, UAE, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The Korean price was approximately $3,132, ranking as the 9th cheapest.

iPhone Duo. Yonhap News

The gap narrowed further with the 2TB model. The U.S. lowest-tax region maintained the lowest price at $3,199, while Korea, at approximately $3,805, ranked as the 8th cheapest region. In contrast, the price of the same 2TB model in Turkiye reached $6,928.

While Korea tends to be relatively expensive for the base model, its ranking improves with larger storage options. This is attributed to the fact that the price determination method and increase for each model differ by country. Thus, the larger the capacity, the greater the impact of each country's pricing policy.

Taxes and Exchange Rates Drive Price Differences

Price differences by country are not determined solely by Apple's base retail price. Sales tax structures, currency exchange rates, and local pricing policies also play a role, so the actual cost for the same product can vary significantly depending on these factors.

Yonhap News Agency

Nukenni compared product prices based on each country's online Apple Store launch price, including tax. Then, local prices were converted to a common standard in U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at noon on September 10. As a result, there may be differences from the actual prices consumers feel, depending on exchange rate fluctuations and pricing policies at the time of sale.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.