For years, Brazil has been famous for selling the most expensive iPhones in the world. This happened with the iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and even the third generation iPhone SE. However, this time, another country takes the top spot in the rankings. According to a study shared by Nukeni with 9to5Mac, Turkey is now the country selling the most expensive iPhones in the world.
Nukeni updates its ranking annually based on iPhone prices obtained from each country’s Apple website. Prices vary depending on local currency and local taxes in each country. While some people are used to seeing Brazil at the top of the list, the advent of the iPhone 14 has changed that.
It’s worth noting that this study takes into account two different prices in the U.S. and Canada, due to the fact that local taxes in those countries vary from state to state. Taking all this into account, Turkey is now the most expensive place in the world to own an iPhone 14, at least officially.
The iPhone 14 Pro, for example, costs $2,193.15 for the 128GB version. Brazil comes in second place with the same device priced at $1,823.19. The cheapest places to buy the iPhone 14 Pro are the United States and Japan, where the device costs $999 (excluding local taxes) and $1,039.46, respectively. Other countries where the iPhone 14 is more expensive to buy are India, Hungary and Poland.
Things aren’t much different for the base model of the iPhone 14, which starts at $829 in the U.S. (taking into account SIM-free pricing). After the U.S., the 128GB iPhone 14 is priced at $831.29 in Japan. Then, Turkey tops the list again with the same device at $1,699.68, more than double the price in the US.
What causes Turkey to have the world’s most expensive iPhone 14?
There are multiple factors that influence the price of Apple devices around the world. When it comes to Turkey, the country has been facing a severe economic crisis, with inflation exceeding 80 percent for the first time in more than 20 years.
Back in 2021, Apple suspended sales of its products in Turkey as the local currency lost 15 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in a matter of hours. When sales in Turkey resumed, Apple raised the prices of its products by 25 percent. App Store prices and subscription fees in the country were also raised due to the collapse of the local currency.
Other countries face price hikes too
Of course, Turkey is not the only country in the world suffering from inflation. Following yesterday’s announcement, Apple has quietly raised the prices of its products in other European countries. For example, the third generation iPhone SE has gone up from £419 to £449 in the UK.
Due to various internal and external problems, both the euro and the pound are depreciating, which makes companies like Apple adjust their prices to compensate for the currency’s weakness.
