Apple’s new iPhone offerings have maintained the reputation of the world’s largest company for charging exorbitant amounts for its technology around the world, especially compared with their peers.
The iPhone XS and XS Max are not only expensive by US standards, but thanks to poor exchange rates in places such as Australia, they are far more expensive than any other mobile handsets that have previously come on the market.
The new models RRP in Australia for $1629 and $1799 respectively, while the iPhone X launched for $1579 with 64GB last year.
While prices have remained relatively constant in the US, in countries such as Italy one can expect to pay a massive $1971 for the XS Max with 512GB of storage. In the UK it will cost $US1898 and even in Hong Kong, which is famed for its cheap electronics offerings, it costs $US1592.
Even allowing for currency swings and roundabouts, these prices seem very high and compare unfavourably with the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung’s most recent iteration in the smartphone space, which even in expensive markets such as Russia and Italy never went above $US1180.
Somewhat ironically, the most expensive place to purchase the Galaxy Note 9 was in Samsung’s native South Korea, where it cost $US1206.
The Galaxy Note 9 retailed in Australia for $1499 ($US1078) and $1799 ($US1294) for the 512GB model, which is roughly in line with what the new iPhones cost.
IPHONE XS AND XS MAX PRICE COMPARISON
iPhone X at launch | XS (64GB) | XS Max (512GB) | |
---|---|---|---|
US | $999 | $999 | $1,449 |
Japan | $1,008 | $1,008 | $1,473 |
HK | $1,094 | $1,095 | $1,592 |
China | $1,224 | $1,269 | $1,868 |
Russia | $1,380 | $1,292 | $1,868 |
UK | $1,322 | $1,309 | $1,898 |
Poland | $1,385 | $1,352 | $1,956 |
Italy | $1,416 | $1,389 | $1,971 |