With Apple looking to perform admirably in Asia, the iPhone X price in Pakistan, India and China will be of critical importance to the corporation. India and China have already become of central importance to the Apple brand, with over 2 billion potential consumers living in these nations. And Apple is also looking to increase its presence in the emerging market of Pakistan, so it’ll be interesting to see whether it can achieve this in 2017.
Image: Apple / Keynote (Screenshot)
iPhone X price in Pakistan
The iPhone X price in Pakistan will certainly be weighty, as it is usually the case in such locations. Export duties, value added tax and other considerations are taken into account by Apple in setting the recommended retail price.
Thus, the premium OLED smartphone from Apple will retail at Rs 105,000 in Pakistan. This is definitely a large figure, as it equates to $996. This sort of markup is obviously significant for consumers in Pakistan, considering that the average income and standard of living is so tangibly lower than in America.
Further complicating the iPhone X price in Pakistan is the fact that there is no official reseller for Apple devices. Although it is possible to purchase the iPhone X from authorized dealers in such locations as Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, as well as ordering the device online, reselling can be rather more challenging.
Most large retail outlets in Pakistan in fact import iPhones from overseas, and then sell them for higher prices, rather than being part of an official import-export scenario. This elevates the iPhone X price in Pakistan, explaining the $1,650 equivalent price tag.
iPhone X price in India
If the iPhone X price in Pakistan is hefty, we may perhaps expect the situation to be slightly different in India. This massive nation has a more advanced consumer culture than Pakistan, and it would reasonably be expected for this to result in lower prices in the Asian subcontinental nation.
However, the iPhone X price in India will be Rs 89,000, which translates to nearly $1,400 in the US marketplace. It is hard to see how this is 40 percent markup is justified, but Apple will point to taxation, trade tariff, import, labor and currency issues. Still, in a country in which there is quite considerable poverty, a 40 percent markup on any item of consumer electronics is certainly significant.
Nonetheless, despite the large iPhone X price in Pakistan and India, Apple remains optimistic regarding the market in these countries. In particular, the iPhone X will go on sale in India at the same time as the United States, indicating that Apple values this part of the world with increasing importance.
iPhone X price in China
However, Although the iPhone X price in Pakistan and India is certainly important to Apple, its strategy in China is of critical importance. The general consensus of opinion among analysts is that the world’s most populous nation will be central to Apple growth prospects in the foreseeable future, meaning that the iPhone X price in China will play a vital role in the success of this handset.
So the launch of the iPhone 8 for 8,388 yuan ($1,287) in China can perhaps be considered slightly surprising, as the device is still marked up by 30 percent in this critical market. Apple will no doubt argue that this is essential, but considering that there are smaller disparities in pricing in other parts of Asia, this does seem like a rather large figure.
Apple is already facing a major competition in East Asia, which makes the iPhone X price in China even more surprising. The Mi MIX 2 from Xiaomi is indicative of the more affordable handsets being made available in China, with this device retailing at just 3,299 yuan ($506). With Samsung also having a decent following in China owing to its geographical locality, it is clear that Apple faces many challenges in China in the years to come.
Indeed, Gartner analyst CK Lu believes that the price tag that the consumer electronics giant has set for the Chinese market is simply too weighty, and that many consumers made instead opt for the iPhone 8. “iPhone X is too expensive for China. It is more of a proof of Apple’s premium brand image. It will be the iPhone 8 that drives Apple’s China sales.”
And Canalys analyst Jia Mo believes that the iPhone exercise in China may be a mistake, with Apple facing serious competition from other manufacturers. “iPhone 8 faces big challenges from products like Huawei’s Mate 10. There are many Chinese phones that can provide a better experience at the $900 price range.”
iPhone X price in Asia
However, the iPhone X price in Japan is rather more reasonable than other Asian locations. The advanced consumer culture in this East Asian country, coupled with the particular focus on electronics, means that the retail price of the Apple smartphone is almost identical to the United States.
Japanese consumers pay only an extra $20 on the base cost of each handset, with the 64GB version of the iPhone X retailing at 112,800 yen.
South Korean punters will pay a significant premium over the US consumer, but this is still far less than most regions of Asia. The next-generation iPhone X will retail at 1.24 million won for the 64GB model, which equates to around $1,100. The iPhone X prize in Thailand can thus be considered fairly reasonable, even if there is a 10 percent inflation over US pricing.
The iPhone X prize in Thailand should also be fairly reasonable, with predictions indicating that it will retail at around Bt35,000. This is only a small 5 percent markup compared to the price in the United States, with this figure equating to around $1,050.
Overall, regardless of the $1,000 price tag of the iPhone X in the Western world, US consumers should feel somewhat thankful that they are not required to shell out the iPhone X price in Pakistan, india, China and other Asian locations.