An iPhone 17 Pro’s Cost Disparity: Turkey Surpasses the US
The iPhone 17 Pro is priced at more than double in Turkey compared to the United States, positioning Turkey as the most exorbitant market for this device among 41 global markets examined.
A report by Deutsche Bank Research, titled Mapping the World’s Prices 2026, contrasts the cost of the 256GB model across various nations. Notably, it reveals that numerous European countries dominate the high end of the pricing spectrum.
This comparative analysis also indicates an expanding chasm between European and American pricing over the last decade.
Switzerland: The Anomaly in Europe
Among 21 European nations scrutinized, Switzerland emerges with the lowest price tag, listed at €1,187. In stark contrast, Turkey is a glaring outlier, charging €2,222 for the same phone— the highest figure encountered across all analyzed markets.
Hungary occupies the second-highest position in Europe, with a cost of €1,565, which is €657 less than in Turkey but €378 greater than in Switzerland.
Pricing Landscape: Japan and South Korea
Among 40 global markets, Japan stands as the sole country where the iPhone 17 Pro presents a lower price than in the United States. The US price is set at €1,012 (approximately $1,181), while in Japan, it retails for €961 (about $1,121). South Korea aligns its pricing precisely with that of the US.
The report highlights, “Japan offers the cheapest iPhone amidst yen weakness. South Korea remains among the least expensive globally due to domestic competition from Samsung.”
Significant Influence of Taxes on Pricing
The report delineates the crucial role that taxation plays in creating substantial price variations for iPhones throughout Europe. It underscores how taxes elevate the effective cost of the iPhone in Hungary, where VAT reaches a staggering 27%.
Incredibly, although Switzerland is often considered the priciest economy for virtually everything, it emerges as the cheapest in Europe for this product, attributed to its relatively low VAT of 8.1%.
On the global stage, Brazil follows closely with an iPhone 17 Pro priced at €1,937.
The report notes, “Turkey and Brazil exemplify how taxes, tariffs, and currency fluctuations can distort the price of an iPhone.”
Egypt ranks third at €1,605, while Mexico sits at sixth with a price of €1,420. Notably, with the exception of Mexico, all countries from fourth to 24th place are located within Europe.
Economic Giants: The UK’s Competitive Edge
In the realm of Europe’s five largest economies, the UK emerges as the most affordable market for the iPhone 17 Pro, priced at €1,265 (or £1,080), while Italy claims the highest position at €1,332. The price margins amongst these nations are narrow, with France at €1,323, Spain at €1,312, and Germany at €1,293.
European Pricing Compared to the US
The report establishes an index where the iPhone price in the US is benchmarked at 100, allowing comparisons with other nations.
In Turkey, the cost of the iPhone 17 Pro reaches 2.19 times that of the US price, translating to a 119% increase. This indicates that consumers are shelling out more than double the price found in the United States.
Turkey stands alone in surpassing the doubling mark of US prices.
A special consumption tax significantly contributes to Turkey’s outlier status. Even individuals who travel abroad, such as to the US, to purchase an iPhone are compelled to pay an “IMEI registration fee” of 54,258 TL (€1,006 or $1,147) upon return, which is strikingly close to the price of the device in the US.
In Switzerland, the iPhone 17 Pro is 17% more expensive compared to the US, while in the UK, the markup is 25%.
Relative Price Trends: iPhone 7 vs. iPhone 17 Pro
When assessing the price oscillations against the iPhone 7 from 2017, it becomes evident that European prices have escalated more rapidly than those in the US. The iPhone 7’s cost in 2017 was indexed at 100 in the US, retaining its base reference. However, it was priced at $815, juxtaposed with the current $1,181 for the iPhone 17 Pro.
This correlation is cogent: if an iPhone costs 100 in America, what is its cost in other locales?
Turkey and Brazil have registered the most significant price disparities in this context. Back in 2017, the iPhone 7 was 47% pricier in Turkey compared to the US, a gap that has now ballooned to 119% for the iPhone 17 Pro.
Brazil reflects a similar trend, with the gap increasing from 37% to 91%.
Notably, the most considerable widening of gaps over the prior decade has been in Norway (21 points), as well as in Sweden, Finland, and the UK (15 points each).
Among European nations, Greece experienced the most modest change, with a mere 7-point increase.
“Apple establishes pricing strategies uniformly, ensuring the product remains consistent worldwide—hence price discrepancies reflect taxes, tariffs, distribution costs, and currency impacts, thereby serving as an insightful lens into trade and fiscal policies,” the report asserts.
According to reference rates from the European Central Bank, €1 exchanged for an average of $1.1229 in June 2017, shifting minutely to $1.1518 in June 2026, representing a modest 2.6% variation.
The Income Disparity and Its Consequences
These nominal prices do not accurately reflect the variances in income levels across nations. For instance, OECD data indicates that annual gross wages ranged from €18,590 in Turkey to €107,487 in Switzerland in 2025. When accounting for income, the affordability divide amplifies significantly.
Source link: Au.finance.yahoo.com.
