Following duty hike, Apple raises prices of all iPhones except SE

Apple has increased prices of all its iPhone models except the iPhone SE by an average of 3.5 per cent after the government increased import duty on mobile phones by 5 per cent last week.

The iPhone SE is exempt from the price hike as it is assembled in India.

The increase that became effective this morning, with the latest and priciest iPhone X 256 GB costlier by Rs3,000-3,500 at Rs1,05,720. The starting prices of iPhone 6 and 6s are now higher by Rs1,500 or so, at Rs30,780 and Rs41,550 respectively, The Economic Times reports.

Apple confirmed the change in pricing, adding that new prices will be effective from today and have been changed on its website as well.

The government last week increased basic customs duty on all mobile phones imported into India to 15 per cent from the earlier 10 per cent while also increasing the import duty for other electronic products such as televisions and microwaves.

While the increase is effective on all brands that import phones, Apple was the most effected as it imports about 88 per cent of the phones it sells in India, says the ET report citing analysts.

Apple assembles the iPhone SE model through contract manufacturer Wistron in Bengaluru.

One analyst told ET that with this increase, prices of iPhones in India could well be the highest in the world. They added that the duty increase should prompt the Cupertino based phone maker to assemble more models in India, which is today a key market for any smartphone maker.