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iPhone 4S Debuts in Over 20 New Countries, Pricing Starts as High as $1400

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Apr 12, 2001
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In line with our report from earlier this month, Apple has launched the iPhone 4S in a number of new countries today. Based on an examination of Apple's site and those of its carrier partners, we have found over 20 countries where the device appears to have debuted today.

The list of new countries includes: Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

brazil_iphone_4s.jpg



iPhone 4S pricing starting at R$2599 in Brazil, the equivalent of US$1410​
As we noted in our earlier report, pricing in Brazil is indeed very high due to the import duties imposed on such devices there, one major reason why Apple and Foxconn are working on ramping up production of iOS devices in the country. Pricing for the iPhone 4S through Apple's Brazilian online store starts at the equivalent of $1410 for the 16 GB model and moves up to $1628 for the 32 GB model and $1845 for the 64 GB model.

Pricing is also rather high in Russia, with carrier partner MTC offering the iPhone 4S at prices ranging from the equivalent of $1131 to $1350.

Many other countries seeing iPhone 4S launches have pricing much more in line with Apple's base pricing in the United States and other major markets. Of the new introductions today, Apple also directly sells the iPhone 4S through its online stores in Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, with pricing coming in roughly around $700/$800/$900 in those markets. Pricing for unlocked, contract-free iPhone 4S models in the United States is set at $649/$749/$849.

Article Link: iPhone 4S Debuts in Over 20 New Countries, Pricing Starts as High as $1400
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/12/16/iphone-4s-debuts-in-over-20-new-countries-pricing-starts-as-high-as-1400/
G

gblog

macrumors newbie
Jul 19, 2011
26
0
Buenos Aires, Argentina
It's always been this way in South America.. I live in Buenos Aires, where everything costs 3x more than in the US. The iPhone 4S is not currently available on any network, but lots of local tech stores bought them unlocked in Italy or in the states, the cheapest 16gb Unlocked iPhone 4S sells for $1600uss.
The major carriers here (Claro AR, Movistar, Personal) still sell the original iPhone 4 16gb under contract for over a thousand bucks :| Then again.. you don't see ANYONE using Apple devices.
 
JonneyGee

JonneyGee

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2011
358
1,222
Nashville, TN
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

I think it would be cheaper for someone in Brazil to purchase a plane ticket to the US, buy an unlocked iPhone, and fly home. Just a thought for the Brazilians out there. (Or buy several and sell them on the black market, and yours is essentially free!)
 
D

darkplanets

macrumors 6502a
Nov 6, 2009
853
1
It will be interesting to see (if) and how these prices change in Brazil once that factory ramps up to full production.

Obviously Apple sees this as a new market.
 
pilot1226

pilot1226

macrumors 6502a
Mar 18, 2010
601
15
USA
JonneyGee said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

I think it would be cheaper for someone in Brazil to purchase a plane ticket to the US, buy an unlocked iPhone, and fly home. Just a thought for the Brazilians out there. (Or buy several and sell them on the black market, and yours is essentially free!)
Click to expand...

I was thinking this same thing.
 
M

masciam

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2011
166
326
JonneyGee said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

I think it would be cheaper for someone in Brazil to purchase a plane ticket to the US, buy an unlocked iPhone, and fly home. Just a thought for the Brazilians out there...
Click to expand...

I don't know what Apple is thinking. You can buy the 4s unlocked at every major carrier in Brazil for R$2000 which is $1000 give or take (for the 16gb)...!
 
D

daxomni

macrumors 6502
Jun 24, 2009
457
6
Those crazy Brazilians and their heavy import tariffs. Maybe rewarding their heavy fees with a BRAND NEW APPLE PRODUCTION PLANT will show them how silly they are. Just like America has. Oh, wait...
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

macrumors 603
Dec 2, 2001
6,191
1,186
Claremont, The intellectual capitol of the world.
For those of you who own iPhones and are shocked at the prices, keep in mind you pay those prices too, just spread over time in the form of a 2 year service contract, a large portion of which is a hardware rebate.

Brazil in particular has outsized taxation on imported goods to try to force companies to make goods there. Apple and Foxconn are in the process of doing exactly that and at some point it will result in lower prices to folks in that particular country.

Rocketman
 
nfl46

nfl46

macrumors G3
Oct 5, 2008
8,349
8,704
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

This reminds me to never move out of the states, no matter how messed our government and economy is.
 
S

stofferdk

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2007
200
0
Copenhagen, Denmark
Certinfy said:
You would have to be an idiot to pay that much for a phone.
Click to expand...

Depends on the country, doesn't it? In Denmark its well over a 1000 USD as well. On the other hand, I am attending med-school, and I make 36 USD/hour or 25 USD/hour after taxes, as a student (!). 5 days work for an iPhone 4S. Seems fine to me.

Furthermore the phone comes with a 6 months contract for free data, 6 hours calling, free texting. Sim unlocked.
 
Last edited:
baryon

baryon

macrumors 68040
Oct 3, 2009
3,878
2,929
Isn't it strange that electronics always cost much more in poorer countries? For example, owning any Apple product in Hungary automatically means you're quite rich, whereas in the USA it's a pretty common thing, and it doesn't necessarily mean you earn more than 80% of the population.
 
M

masciam

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2011
166
326
JonneyGee said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A405)

I think it would be cheaper for someone in Brazil to purchase a plane ticket to the US, buy an unlocked iPhone, and fly home. Just a thought for the Brazilians out there. (Or buy several and sell them on the black market, and yours is essentially free!)
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what a lot of people actually do. Every year brazilians hit a new record of money spent outside the country. There are really cheap flights, specially to Miami, and depending on what you're planning to buy you can pay for the plane + hotel and it's still less than what you'd spend here.

I was in Orlando last week with my family and the guys at Best Buy even had their extended warranty contract printed in portuguese!

BTW I bought an iphone for me and for a friend, but he decided he didn't want it, so I sold it for like $350 more than what I paid. I'd never spend that much on a phone, but if people are willing to, what can I do?
 
O

organerito

macrumors 6502
Nov 9, 2008
407
19
nfl46 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

This reminds me to never move out of the states, no matter how messed our government and economy is.
Click to expand...

Yes, you'll enjoy your USA even more with this.
 
G

gblog

macrumors newbie
Jul 19, 2011
26
0
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rocketman said:
For those of you who own iPhones and are shocked at the prices, keep in mind you pay those prices too, just spread over time in the form of a 2 year service contract, a large portion of which is a hardware rebate.

Brazil in particular has outsized taxation on imported goods to try to force companies to make goods there. Apple and Foxconn are in the process of doing exactly that and at some point it will result in lower prices to folks in that particular country.

Rocketman
Click to expand...

Not exactly. Most of the people that get these Unlocked iPhones have existing contracts, they need to have contracts in order to use internet on their phones.. It's very expensive to surf the web here in Argentina/Brazil/Uruguay if you're on prepaid. They charge nearly $0.50 per MB. And there isn't wifi everywhere. So you're basically paying $1600 for the phone + $60-100 for the monthly plan with crappy '3G' (20kb/s download, 17kb/s upload). And in a year spend $1600 on the newer iPhone.
 
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