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

[MacRumors]

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.

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

 

[Ulf1103]

Insane!!!!

But people will still buy it, I guess

 

[Skika]

Talk about a status symbol

 

[MultiMediaWill]

#ProudToBeAnAmerican
#$199
#JustSayin

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

US$1410?

Nice.

Sounds like 200 US$ for 8 GB RAM (MBP, Apple Online Shop), which you can buy for < 40 US$ on the free market.

 

[alent1234]

+1 more reason not to ever go back to russia

 

[Certinfy]

You would have to be an idiot to pay that much for a phone.

 

[gblog]

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]

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!)

 

[Navdakilla]

Wow apple tax

 

[Northgrove]

Wow apple tax

Import tax

 

[darkplanets]

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.

 

[Thunderhawks]

You would have to be an idiot to pay that much for a phone.

We can actually say that for anybody who pays more than the 99 cents the 3GS with contract comes at.

Just a thought

 

[pilot1226]

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!)

I was thinking this same thing.

 

[masciam]

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...

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)...!

 

[daxomni]

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...

 

[foodog]

You would have to be an idiot to pay that much for a phone.

unless all phones have similar cost

 

[Rocketman]

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]

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.

 

[stofferdk]

You would have to be an idiot to pay that much for a phone.

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.

 

[nirvana101]

These are also all unlocked iPhones

 

[baryon]

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.

 

[masciam]

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!)

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?

 

[organerito]

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.

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

 

[gblog]

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

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.