UK/US Conversions

New iPhone4

US: $199/$299

UK: £499/£599


What a rip.

Looks as if I am staying with the iPhone3G

Nighthawk4 said:

New iPhone4

US: $199/$299

UK: £499/£599


What a rip.

Looks as if I am staying with the iPhone3G

Click to expand...

Since the phones in the US are generally subsidized by the carrier, you can't really accurately compare costs. You would need to compare the no-contract cost in the US vs the UK cost.

iPhone 4 UK v's US

US
16GB From $199
32GB From $299

UK
16GB From £499
32GB From £599

Did I miss something with the exchange rate?

last time I looked is was about 1 GBP = 1.47751 USD

Shouldn't it read

UK
16GB1 From £134.65
32GB1 From £202.34

Steve Jobs addressed this to a UK customer personally in a email, He explained that the UK requires the VAT (hope I'm saying that right) to be included in the price.

Vat is 17.5%

So that should make it

UK
16GB1 From £158.21
32GB1 From £237.74

Still doesn't seem right.

james_b said:

US
16GB From $199
32GB From $299

UK
16GB From £499
32GB From £599

Did I miss something with the exchange rate?

last time I looked is was about 1 GBP = 1.47751 USD

Shouldn't it read

UK
16GB1 From £134.65
32GB1 From £202.34

Click to expand...

See my post above.

No-contract US pricing would be $599 and $699 I believe. Essentially for people able to get an upgrade or new contract from AT&T, Apple is still effectively selling them for $599 and $699, AT&T is just paying $400 of the cost, we pay the rest.

The model is different in the US than in the rest of the world.

So the phones in the US are tied into a contract and the UK phones sim free?

james_b said:

So the phones in the US are tied into a contract and the UK phones sim free?

Click to expand...

Generally. In most cases, phones in Europe are sold separate from a cell phone contract and are usually unlocked. But that also means phone are much more expensive to purchase there.

The iPhone is locked to the "exclusive" carrier in the country, but the pricing remains the same.

Only in the US do we have this weird subsidy/contract/sign over your first born thing going on.

james_b said:

So the phones in the US are tied into a contract and the UK phones sim free?

Click to expand...

Not sure about the second UK part of your question, but the $199 US pricing is tied to a 2 year contract w/ AT&T.

schweb said:

Generally. In most cases, phones in Europe are sold separate from a cell phone contract and are usually unlocked. But that also means phone are much more expensive to purchase there.

The iPhone is locked to the "exclusive" carrier in the country, but the pricing remains the same.

Only in the US do we have this weird subsidy/contract/sign over your first born thing going on.

Click to expand...

Tell me about it, Nokia has been selling there high N series phones for years contract free. But remember also outside the US there is a international standard for GSM and 3G, Not like here where you have CDMA..etc

ok then, working backwards from UK to US sim free price.

US
16GB From $738.24
32GB From $886.66

In UK you get the phones from the carrier not from apple, there are 4 or 5 they sell the iPhone with a 2 year contract.

How about a "Why does the iPhone cost less in the US than in my country?" sticky?

bargsbeer said:

But remember also outside the US there is a international standard for GSM and 3G, Not like here where you have CDMA..etc

Click to expand...

That's not completely accurate...

In the US AT&T and T-mobile use GSM, Verizon and Sprint use CDMA. Everyone, except Sprint, will be using the same tech for 4G.

In Europe, GSM is the standard for all carriers.

In Asia, many of the big players and some entire countries are CDMA-only.

There really isn't a truly global standard. There's even differences between regions and sometimes in the same country where even if it's GSM it may be different frequencies so it's not compatible (T-mo and AT&T in the US for example on 3G)

Jaygray said:

How about a "Why does the iPhone cost less in the US than in my country?" sticky?

Click to expand...

How about most people wouldn't bother to read it anyway

People who want to complain, generally tend to not bother to search or look if their issue has been discussed before. ;D

The price of the new iPhone is utterly ridiculous.

With each mobile release apple is turning more into the anti christ.

james_b said:

The price of the new iPhone is utterly ridiculous.

With each mobile release apple is turning more into the anti christ.

Click to expand...

You could always buy an Android phone or a Nokia lol.

Nighthawk4 said:

New iPhone4

US: $199/$299

UK: £499/£599

What a rip.

Looks as if I am staying with the iPhone3G

Click to expand...

There's no real point in comparing the price of Apple products (or other products as well) from country to country. Different countries are different for different reasons.

Apple products in the UK are priced the way they are for a reason...and prices for Apple products are priced they are in the United States for other reasons. There's really is no reason to expect the price of Apple products to cost EXACTLY the same from country to country all over the world (after making conversions for differing currencies).

Automobiles cost a lot more in the UK, so do single family homes. The UK has higher income taxes than the United States...and the UK has a centralized health care system. There are many differences between two different countries than just the price of Apple products!!!

Comparing the price of Apple products between the UK & the United States is NOT like comparing the prices between the state of New York & California! Different countries are different for various reasons...and the prices of consumer products will vary as well.

- Nick

schweb said:

You could always buy an Android phone or a Nokia lol.

Click to expand...

Funny you should say that, I've just got a HTC Desire.

I took the prices from the Apple Store on the Apple Website - UK and US versions. Why would those not be stated in the same terms, apart from the VAT being added in UK but the Sales Tax not added in US?

We are talking of an extra £300, not 17.5% VAT


Edit - the corresponding prices for the iPad had nowhere near this difference.


I was also thinking of an HTC Desire, but I prefer to stay with an iPhone as the Android does not sync with my Mac and the iPhone does.

Nighthawk4 said:

I took the prices from the Apple Store on the Apple Website - UK and US versions. Why would those not be stated in the same terms, apart from the VAT being added in UK but the Sales Tax not added in US?

Click to expand...

You must not have read anything I posted previously in this thread.