The prices of new iPhones are dizzying: How much does the average Slovak have to pay for them, and who in Europe can afford them in just a week? – Hashtag.sk – Hashtag.sk

#At the beginning of September, Apple released a new series of iPhone 14. They brought some news and improvements, but especially higher prices in Slovakia. A year ago, it was still customary for last year’s iPhones (in this case 13 and 13 Pro) to become cheaper by 100 euros after a year. Slovaks have to forget about that too. So how does Apple solve its pricing policy at home and abroad? We took a closer look at how many days Slovaks have to work to be able to afford individual models, compared the data with the rest of the world and our neighbors, and asked our readers what they think about the price increase. The data was published by the CompareDial portal. The price of new iPhones in our country has risen. To begin with, let’s imagine the recommended retail prices of selected iPhones of the 13th and 14th series, which are still current today (all prices are for the basic 128 GB model): iPhone 13 mini – 799 euros iPhone 13 – 899 euros iPhone 13 Pro – 1119 euros iPhone 14 – 999 euros iPhone 14 Pro – 1299 euros Note that the difference between the basic models from 2021 and 2022 is exactly 100 euros. However, you can buy the Pro model 180 euros more expensive. To find the reason behind this price increase, we cannot look at differences in Apple’s pricing policy. It plays no role in this case. The reason is the fact that last year the euro was stronger against the dollar, but this year the tables have turned. The euro has weakened significantly against the dollar, and Apple will not look at each market separately. For them, the domestic American market is important, not Europe or Asia. In theory, the new iPhones have not become more expensive, but due to high inflation, we will pay more for them. The value of the euro decreased, the selling price increased, and the difference in the value of last year’s and this year’s iPhones is therefore minimal. You don’t even have to be an economist to understand it. What is more surprising is the significant increase in the price of Pro models compared to ordinary ones. However, this is also only the case of the foreign market, and not the American one (the difference is still $100). Apple wants to sell more Pro models, on which it will make a little more money. This is also the reason why functions like Always-On or Dynamic Island are only for iPhone 14 Pro, and not for basic models. Pros simply need to differentiate themselves as much as possible. However, for one thousand (iPhone 14) today you can buy a mobile phone with a 120 Hz display or a telephoto lens. Apple is still (deliberately) behind in this. Prices did not rise in eight countries, but prices did not rise everywhere. The fact that the European market is unified also shows that prices are equally high in every country of the European Union. The amounts did not change only in the following countries: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. From the point of view of sales, these are the strongest countries, and Apple is careful not to upset its users in them with significantly higher prices. A price increase of even “only” by a hundred like here could (but may not) mean a drop in sales, and thus also in sales. Apple earns more and more from iPhones every year. Complex situation in the world The world is globally connected, and therefore it is difficult to understand the pricing policy of one company doing business in almost all countries of the world. The CompareDial portal processed the income data of residents and compared them with the prices of individual iPhone 14 models. It also published this data as part of a comparison with the number of days that residents have to work to be able to buy a mobile phone. The map below shows the countries where people have to work the least (green) and the most (red) for a new iPhone. Slovakia is somewhere in the middle. Most are made in Africa and South Asia Countries with the most inaccessible new iPhones include almost all of South America, Africa and Asia. These countries have the worst ratio of salaries to mobile prices – Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh, Egypt and Tunisia. Let’s break down the least affordable of them, Nigeria: iPhone 14 – A Nigerian must work 179 days or 1437 hours to buy, which is 69.12% of the annual wage. iPhoner 14 Pro – A Nigerian must work 216 days or 1732 hours to buy, which is 83.29% of the annual salary. iPhone 14 Pro Max 1TB (highest and most expensive version) – A Nigerian must work 346 days or 2773 hours to buy, which is 133.32% of the annual salary. Other countries whose citizens need at least 25% of their annual salary include, for example, Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, but also Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In rich countries, people will earn for five mobile phones in a month. On the other hand, let’s look at countries where residents have to earn literally only a few days to be able to buy a new iPhone. The five most favorable countries in this regard are Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United States, Norway and Denmark. This is also the reason why Apple does not solve the European market – Europeans have money for mobile phones even after the price increase. Let’s talk more about Luxembourg: iPhone 14 – A Luxembourger has to work 4 and a half days, or 33 hours, to buy it, which is 1.61% of the annual salary. iPhoner 14 Pro – A Luxembourger has to work 5 days, or 40 hours, to buy it, which is 1.94% of the annual salary. iPhone 14 Pro Max 1 TB (highest and most expensive version) – A Luxembourger has to work 8 days or 64 hours to buy it, which is 3.11% of the annual salary. As you can see, a Luxembourger can buy five new iPhones in a month, while a Nigerian can barely afford one basic model in a year. However, one must also take into account the fact that a Nigerian would have to be modest in terms of eating, living and dressing. Singapore, Qatar, Japan, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and almost all of Western Europe are among the other countries where less than 5% of annual income is enough to buy. Note that many of these are countries where Apple hasn’t changed prices this year. How is Slovakia doing? Slovakia is somewhere in the average, but in reality we are about 10 times better than the aforementioned Nigeria. Even though our salaries are relatively small and the prices of mobile phones are high, we buy them in bulk. This is how we can afford new products from Apple: iPhone 14 – A Slovak must work 18 days, or 147 hours, to buy it, which is 7.1% of the annual salary. iPhoner 14 Pro – A Slovak must work 22 days, or 178 hours, to buy it, which is 8.56% of the annual salary. iPhone 14 Pro Max 1 TB (highest and most expensive version) – A Slovak must work 35 days, or 284 hours, to buy it, which is 13.7% of the annual salary. So there is no place to complain. The range of percentages is therefore from 69% (Nigeria) to 1.6% (Luxembourg). Even if the list includes about a hundred countries with more accessible mobile phones and a hundred with less accessible ones, moving around the 7% limit is very respectable. Neighbors work approximately the same (except Austria) In the picture above you can see which countries are placed just above and below Slovakia. These are mainly European countries, while the closest to us are our Czech brothers. There, too, the prices of iPhones increased, and the basic model costs 26,490 Czech crowns. Pro already costs more than 33,000. On the other hand, both Poles and Hungarians have to pay a little more for new mobile phones than we do. Although the difference is “only” 3%, it is actually an increase of about a third. Our western neighbor, Austria, is significantly better off than the entire V4, residents need only 2.8% of their annual income to buy one, and in the table they were ranked 13th of the most affordable countries to buy an iPhone 14. Slovaks are not satisfied with the price or news Prices they are not the only ones that trouble us. We also look at the improvements that new smartphones bring. The base model 14 is just a modified model 13 (which is a modified model 12). Not too much has changed, even last year’s processor remains (albeit from the Pro model). The Pro models themselves added many functions, but they also became the most expensive. The reactions to the raised prices are different. “I understand this increase. Everything goes up. I don’t buy an iPhone every year, but generally the prices don’t change much,” says our reader Matúš. At the same time, he added that everyone has the opportunity to exchange their old iPhone for a new one, saving hundreds of euros on the purchase. Apple will buy your phone at any branch of the official reseller. “The prices are excessive. I think that Apple should also be interested in our market, not only in America. If Samsung or Xiaomi did something similar, they would all scream. When Apple does it, everyone is quiet,” says reader Samuel for a change. It is true that Apple sells its devices despite the increasing price, and most users in the world obviously do not mind it. Poll results A month ago, we published a poll on our website about which of the new devices our readers want to buy this year. Up to 51% percent of them want a new iPhone, headphones or watch despite their higher price. At the time of writing this article, the survey looked as follows: This year neither – approx. 49% iPhone 14 Pro (or Max) – approx. 28% iPhone 14 (or Plus) – approx. 6% (The remaining percentages were responses to the purchase of AirPods and Apple Watch, which however, they are not the subject of the article). At the same time, you can vote in a new poll. Come to our TikTok and you’ll burst out laughing! New sketches every week