Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are not cheap. But if you think they are under-priced and you want something even more premium to stand out in the crowd, a Chinese company can help you. China’s NavJack is offering limited edition 24K gold-plated iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. As you can see in the images below, the gold-plated devices also have a carbon fiber-like finish on the back panel. It gives the iPhone 6 owner an added sense of exclusivity.
According to Chinese website Pixnet, NavJack has also added Gorilla Glass 3 to the front panel of iPhones. GSMArena says the added layer will make the display more scratch- and drop-resistant. Gold plating is found even inside the TouchID embedded Home button. The transformation process doesn’t make any changes in the hardware innards of the iPhones.
To give you a sense of exclusivity, NavJack provides you the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus in a special box, which looks different from Apple’s traditional packaging. NavJack is yet to announce the pricing of its gold-plated iPhones. Of course, the devices won’t be cheap. The new iPhone prices already reach close to $1,000 in China. So, a gold-plated iPhone may cost two or three times as much, or maybe even higher.
China biggest market for iPhones
iPhones have become a status symbol in China. According to UBS analyst Steven Milunovich, China now accounts for 35% of total iPhone shipments, way higher than 24% for the United States. The iPhone mania in the world’s largest smartphone market can be understood by the fact that one Chinese man offered to rent his girlfriend to collect money for the iPhone 6.
The iPhone 6 is popularly called Kidney 6 in China because a teenager had sold one of his kidneys to buy the iDevice. Recently, three thieves in Beijing stole 240 units of the iPhone 6 worth $225,325 from a warehouse by digging a 50cm hole in the wall. They sold all the phones and spent the money on cars, gold and gambling. Police were able to track the serial numbers of stolen devices and arrest the burglars.