iPhone 14 Series: Here Are Some Reasons Why It Might Cost A Bit More

 

You can expect the Apple iPhone 14 Pro’s price in India to be higher than expected. Why is that?

As Apple launches its new iPhone 14 series in India in the coming weeks, pricing is likely to be unprecedentedly high, at least for the top models. It won’t be because of the chip shortages and supply chain issues plaguing tech companies worldwide that iPhone prices will rise this year. A very Indian problem will be at the root of this.

In recent months, the Indian Rupee has been at record lows against the US dollar with no signs that it will begin to recover its levels or even strengthen. To absorb currency fluctuations, Apple usually keeps a price buffer on top of the original Dollar pricing in India, since it does not prefer to raise or drop its prices until a new product range is launched after a year. Generally, pricing is only changed because of changes in tax rates.

As a result of an extra volatile Rupee hovering around Rs 80 to a Dollar this year, it is possible that the company will increase this price buffer to protect itself against this, especially if it does not anticipate very high conversion rates in the coming months due to the grim geopolitical situation.

It is possible that Cupertino could set exceptions to this rule. For instance, in order to capture more premium market share in India, it could keep the new models at the same price as they were at launch last year. It will be Apple’s responsibility to hedge against the launch prices not being enough for another year since they do have a buffer built into them.

 Apple might be able to keep costs low in the Indian market by manufacturing some of its newest models in India. Although the iPhone 13 series had more storage than the iPhone 12 series, it had the same price at launch, so the cost of ownership was lower. As of last year, the iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 13 started at Rs 69,900 and Rs 79,900.

It is possible that Apple will sell the new iPhone 14 for Rs 79,990, thus holding the price, but also pushing up the average selling price of the range, because the mini is unlikely to feature this year. The Dollar was at Rs 74 last year, almost 10 percent less than it is now.

Apple has been using this strategy of going more premium with its pricing in order to protect its revenues since the number of iPhones and other smartphones hasn’t been growing at a high rate. When it comes to the demand for Apple’s products, Apple has been able to cultivate an audience with a relatively low price elasticity over the years.

With the launch of new devices, there is a growing market for older iPhones in India that becomes more accessible. For this reason, Apple will continue to focus on the iPhone 13 and older models in order to increase its market share. The idea is that they will appeal more to first-time Apple customers.

Let’s wait and see how Apple ultimately prices its products in the Indian market.