iPhone in Terms of Average Hourly Wages of Workers by Country
Korea Takes 10.1 Days, Mid-Level Among Developed Countries
Slower Than Canada and UK, Faster Than Japan
How many days would you have to work to buy Apple's latest premium smartphone, the iPhone 15 Pro? A survey has been released showing the time it takes to purchase an iPhone based on the average hourly wage of workers in various countries.
On the 12th (local time), overseas IT media PhoneArena cited a report from the US e-commerce platform Picodi, revealing that the average American needs to work 5.3 days to afford one iPhone 15 Pro. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary of Americans is $61,900.
The price of the iPhone varies greatly by country due to differences in tariffs, shipping costs, value-added tax, and sales tax. In the US, the iPhone 15 Pro was released at the same price as the previous generation phone, $999.
So, how long would you have to work to buy an iPhone 15 Pro in Korea? The domestic price of the iPhone 15 Pro starts at 1,550,000 KRW. Picodi analyzed that, based on the average wage in Korea, it would take approximately 10.1 days of work to save enough money to buy the iPhone.
Korea's relative iPhone 15 price ranks in the middle among developed countries. The order was ▲Canada 7.7 days ▲Ireland 8.4 days ▲Germany 9.5 days ▲United Kingdom 9.9 days ▲Korea 10.1 days ▲France 10.2 days ▲Japan 12.6 days ▲Spain 15.5 days ▲Italy 16.6 days.
Additionally, Taiwan required 18.7 days' worth of wages, China 23.5 days, Vietnam 55.6 days, and India 55.9 days.
With the average salary of domestic office workers, one must work for 10.1 days to purchase one iPhone 15 Pro. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The country where it takes the shortest time to purchase the iPhone 15 Pro is Switzerland, at a total of 4.2 days, which is 1.1 days less than in the US.
On the same day, Apple unveiled four new iPhone 15 models, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 at the Apple Park event in Cupertino, California.
The newly released iPhone 15 is the world's first product to feature the 3nm A17 chip and has adopted a USB-C charging port. Titanium material is also applied to the Pro and Pro Max models. Despite significant performance upgrades, the launch price was frozen contrary to expectations.
Domestic Teens and Twenties Say "If You Don't Use an iPhone, You're an Outcast"
Meanwhile, the iPhone market share among teenagers and people in their twenties is rapidly expanding in Korea. According to a survey by Gallup Korea, the domestic smartphone brand market share was Samsung 69% and Apple 23%. However, among people in their twenties, Apple accounted for 65% and Samsung 32%. Although not included in the survey, teenagers also show a clear preference for iPhones. The phrase "If you don't use an iPhone, you're an outcast" is commonly heard.
Among smartphone users aged 18 to 29, 59% responded that they plan to purchase an iPhone in the future. Only 34% of those aged 18 to 29 expressed an intention to buy a Galaxy.
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