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Apple Raises Prices on Several Products in Many Countries Amid Strong U.S. Dollar

How can this be do to a strong dollar?

The strenght of the dollar can only be relevant if the product is actually made in the US.

As far as I am aware more or less everything is made in China. So unless the Chinese currency is following the dollar the production prices has actually gone down for apple, do to the dollar going up compared to the Chinese currency.

The argument makes no sense.
 
dfogh said:
How can this be do to a strong dollar?

The strenght of the dollar can only be relevant if the product is actually made in the US.

As far as I am aware more or less everything is made in China. So unless the Chinese currency is following the dollar the production prices has actually gone down for apple, do to the dollar going up compared to the Chinese currency.

The argument makes no sense.
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Costs of goods includes more than just raw materials and manufacturing. In any case, the Yuan used to be pegged to the USD but this caused it to become greatly undervalued. Under international pressure, the Chinese government has allowed it to appreciate somewhat. This increases the cost of goods coming from China.
 
Rudy69 said:
Everything is expensive in Australia though. I went for a vacation last year, and it's a really really beautiful country and I wish I could live there....but man the cost of living is ridiculous
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Our wages are far higher than the USA.
 
SgtPepper12 said:
I bought my rMBP a week ago and people here recommended to return it and get the new one, but looks like this isn't going to happen. Turns out I had somewhat lucky timing. Saved almost 200 EUR.
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You could get it exchanged for the new one most likely if under the return policy
 
IJ Reilly said:
Call it what you like, it is a meaningless concept. All that matters is real costs of goods.

An American spending USD in Canada a few years when the currencies were at so-called "parity" would find the hamburger that cost them $5.00 in the US cost $7.00 in Canada. The reverse was true for Canadians buying hamburgers in the US. At the current exchange rate, the difference is much smaller: $5.00US is now worth about $6.25CN. The currencies are closer to real parity when neither is relatively under or overvalued based on the cost of goods. What the currency units are called means nothing to what they are worth. It's what they can actually buy that matters.
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You claim that when the Canadian dollar was at parity prices where 20-30% more in Canada.

So a 10$ item in the states would have cost 13$ in Canada. Now that the exchange rate is 25% more that would add another 25% to the cost a Canadian pays.

13$ x 25% = 16.25$

How is being 62.5% more expensive closer to parity?

I paid $999 Canadian for my macbook air 2012 and the Canadian dollar was below parity. It cost me less in Canada than in the USA. Today the after converting the currency everything is still around the same price in Canada as it is in the USA. A mac mini is over 50$ cheaper in Canada.

Certain items are much more expensive in Canada by 20-30% but for reasons of tax. Fuel and certain foods(dairy) are crazy expensive.

As for your hamburger from wikipedia

Today prices are somewhat lower in Canada for at least one item: the Big Mac Index shows that in January 2006 a Big Mac cost $3.15 in the States and only $3.01 in Canada.
 
Glassed Silver said:
Out of curiosity, did Apple raise wages for its staff around the world?
Legit question, I simply don't know, but I assume I'd have read about this by now on here? :confused:

Glassed Silver:mac
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Employees are paid to local wages. You don't have to have parity of wages around the world. In fact, you have the complete opposite. You pay to market. For example, pay in SF is 25% higher than other places because of high cost of living. Doesn't mean every developer for Apple, if they work in Texas, for example, should be paid the same.

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dfogh said:
How can this be do to a strong dollar?

The strenght of the dollar can only be relevant if the product is actually made in the US.

As far as I am aware more or less everything is made in China. So unless the Chinese currency is following the dollar the production prices has actually gone down for apple, do to the dollar going up compared to the Chinese currency.

The argument makes no sense.
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It makes sense because it's not pricing parity with how much it costs to make in China, but to how much it sells for everywhere in the world.

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alvindarkness said:
I might consider the same. And to think just 24 hours ago I was looking forward to a new 15" MBP later in the year when skylake updates happen. Time to spend more time in other operating systems over the next few months to judge the situation better.
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It's going to be hard.
 
People seem to be forgetting that different countries have different import taxes/tariffs/trade deals with the US. You can thank your country's protective policies for much of the extra cost. Apple is indeed consistent in its pricing...but taxes are built into the prices in other countries, so the prices are usually higher anyway. Taiwan is where many of the components are manufactured, but there's s good 10-25% price increase due to trade laws and import taxes. Not to mention that the Taiwan Dollars is pegged to the U.S. dollar.
 
When the euro was 1.50 dollars Apple refused to lower their prices, but now that euro lowered to 1.10 dollars they instantly raise their prices. We pay like 1600 dollars while you Americans still pay 1400 for the new Macbook. Really unfair Apple.
 
oldmacs said:
Every single Apple Laptop went up by $200 in Australia sadly :(

Apple should start paying its proper income tax here if it wants to jack up prices (although I do acknowledge prices are somewhat dependent on the exchange rate). The non Retina Macbook went up to $1549 - which is well above the currency conversion and our GST... not overly fair.
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LOL yeah problem is in most cases Australians were already paying more after the conversion. US dollar goes up significantly due to 1-off unexpected results and Apple runs amok and crank things up even higher.

Since Apple use weird accounting schemes that prevent them from having to pay tax in Australia (seriously... in-store card purchases are billed to An offshoot in Ireland... WTF?) you'd think we could get a better deal.
 
Opunium said:
When the euro was 1.50 dollars Apple refused to lower their prices, but now that euro lowered to 1.10 dollars they instantly raise their prices. We pay like 1600 dollars while you Americans still pay 1400 for the new Macbook. Really unfair Apple.
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Exactly there's no connection... it's just an opportunistic excuse. When the US dollar goes down again the prices won't go down.
 
djgamble said:
Exactly there's no connection... it's just an opportunistic excuse. When the US dollar goes down again the prices won't go down.
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Are MacRumors readers this uninformed? It's called DUTIES, TARIFFS, IMPORT TAXES. If you go to Switzerland, you're going to pay wildly high prices, not just because Switzerland is expensive, but imports on electronics are insanely taxed.

Get your information straight before you start kicking Apple around. I agree that they're greedy (Apple Watch Edition freshest evidence), but this is basic customs and duties. If you but a Mac in the US on a trip and return to the EU, you better believe you'll need to claim it and pay taxes. Unlike the U.S., taxes/tariffs/duties are included in prices in other countries.

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djgamble said:
LOL yeah problem is in most cases Australians were already paying more after the conversion. US dollar goes up significantly due to 1-off unexpected results and Apple runs amok and crank things up even higher.

Since Apple use weird accounting schemes that prevent them from having to pay tax in Australia (seriously... in-store card purchases are billed to An offshoot in Ireland... WTF?) you'd think we could get a better deal.
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Australians can thank their politicians for taxing electronic imports...no need to blame Apple for everything.

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Opunium said:
When the euro was 1.50 dollars Apple refused to lower their prices, but now that euro lowered to 1.10 dollars they instantly raise their prices. We pay like 1600 dollars while you Americans still pay 1400 for the new Macbook. Really unfair Apple.
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You can thank the EU and your country for its protective taxes/tariffs/duties. The fundamental price difference--before currency adjustments--is due to difference duties and tariffs on imports, namely electronics. The EU also doesn't favor Chinese imported goods with the ease that the U.S. does...you should thank your government's protective policies.
 
Broph said:
It's funny how they won't lower the price though when the opposite is happening (like when the Australian dollar was nearly 1:1 with the US Dollar).
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That is my biggest issue with price adjustments. By all means apple should adjust, but both ways, not just to profit.
 
markydee said:
Wut? Up $350 for Canada? Really?? Why only now?

What is happening at Apple? Seriously? It's as if the company's main focus right now is more on aesthetics and more $$$. I mean, from the "diverse" emojis, the animated maps bullcrap, then we have a 12-inch laptop that's obviously just spray-painted garbage, overpriced watches??? :confused:

I've always chosen the Mac over PC for 5-ish years now ever since I laid my hands on my first mbp coz I think OSX has always been way better for me personally, but damn, if this continues, I think I'm jumping ship next time I need an upgrade. :(
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Yup, exactly how I feel too. Been using Macs for about 15 years now, but Apple seems to steer things in a direction I like less and less every year. A lightweight laptop with the proper ports and a Linux running on it seems more and more as a good idea.
 
I actually bought a new rMBP 13 inch 2 months ago as I knew the prices were low here in Canada compared to the value of the U.S. dollar. So to be fair, there are people like me who bought their products for far cheaper prices than they were priced in the U.S.

The price of Canadian dollar has been down for 2 months now and Apple was selling the same laptop for the same price. This is just fair game.

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antonis said:
Yup, exactly how I feel too. Been using Macs for about 15 years now, but Apple seems to steer things in a direction I like less and less every year. A lightweight laptop with the proper ports and a Linux running on it seems more and more as a good idea.
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Do you expect them to sell the laptop that's worth $2000 U.S. for 2000 Pesos too?? The Canadian dollar is down like crazy, how can you not understand Apple's logic here???
 
The price hikes in Australia are ridiculously way over the currency conversion and taxes. Apple watch is way more here also
 
pauliaK said:
I'm afraid my planned upgrade will not be happening with prices like this. Just can't think of an idea of paying this premium. Will either have to skip this cycle or look at alternatives. Apple may be shooting themselves in a foot if this actually lowers their sales worldwide which it might with such a steep hike in pricing.
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You're kidding yourself if you think Apple is going to be the only one. At least all other US based companies will start raising prices also. There's no way will allow 20% decrease on their income from non-US countries. They just needed someone to start first. As usual, as Apple goes, everyone else will follow.

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tmanto02 said:
The price hikes in Australia are ridiculously way over the currency conversion and taxes. Apple watch is way more here also
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Not ridiculous. Have you checked how much dollar rose against $AU over the last couple of years? Almost 25%.
 
Not happy with the new prices of Apple products in Sweden. iPhone 6 is $100 more expensive and the new Macbook have 20% higher conversion rate than we used to have on Apple products. I usually buy new Macbook, iPhone and iPad every year but Apple will not get my money in the near future with those prices.
 
MikePLP said:
You're kidding yourself if you think Apple is going to be the only one. At least all other US based companies will start raising prices also. There's no way will allow 20% decrease on their income from non-US countries. They just needed someone to start first. As usual, as Apple goes, everyone else will follow.

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Not ridiculous. Have you checked how much dollar rose against $AU over the last couple of years? Almost 25%.
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It is ridiculous. They have no right since they don't pay their income tax. Maybe if they paid their 30 percent tax I'd think its reasonable.
 
Last edited:
This is indeed a bit awkward, as I don't recall Apple ever lowering the prices due to a weak USD :rolleyes:
 
oldmacs said:
It is ridiculous. They have no right since they don't pay their income tax. Maybe if they paid their 30 percent tax I'd think its reasonable.
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Who says they don't pay taxes in AU? Regardless, it has nothing to do with currency rate appreciation.
 
The watch is priced ridiculously in Europe. The price for one model I looked at is €750 when its $650 in the US. The dollar may be strong but it vs the Euro it's still worth less coin for coin (1 euro is at the moment 1,08 dollar)
 
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