Apple has increased the price of several iPhone models in India, including the top-tier iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, yet again. The iPhone price hike in India is coming at a time when sales in the country are just starting to take off, which might cause a significant dent in Apple’s sales and lead them back where they started.
The decision came following an increase in import duties on mobile phones and chargers announced during India’s Union Budget 2020.
The Hindu Business Line reported that imported handsets will no longer be exempted from a 10% social welfare surcharge. The Indian government has also ramped up the import duty on printed circuit boards from 10% to 20%, and from 15% to 20% on chargers. Apple will additionally have to pay 20% on basic customs for these devices.
The iPhone price hike in India officially came into effect from 2 March 2020, on the iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 8, and 8 Plus. Although this 2% price hike on the already pricey gadget will have a lot of people livid (we’re not happy either, believe me), it’s much smaller than the 3-4% price hike we saw in 2018.
Below are the updated prices:
Looking at all these prices for a glorified piece of machinery really makes me wonder what the world is coming to—because we all know there’s still going to be plenty of buyers.
We are holding on to one ray of hope, however. I don’t want to jinx it, but it was reported earlier in February that Wistron’s new plant in Bengaluru is planning to assemble printed circuit boards by April. This means we could very well see a drop even after this iPhone price hike in India sooner than we think.
Another piece of good news? Amidst all this hullabaloo, the iPhone 11, XR, and 7 have remained true to their original prices. Although we’re not clear as to how the iPhone 11 managed to escape the price hike, we know iPhone XR and 7 managed to because both are manufactured right here in India by Apple partners Wistron and Foxconn (a point to Make in India, I guess).
