iPhone 15, 130,000 Won Cheaper Than in Korea... Let's Buy It on a Trip to Japan

iPhone Prices Frozen but Still Expensive in Korea
More People Buying in Japan... About 130,000 Won Cheaper

Apple froze the price of the iPhone 15 series at a level similar to the 14 series upon its release. Despite this, the price remains burdensome, leading to an increasing trend of purchasing the phone in nearby countries like Japan, where it is cheaper than in Korea.

On the 12th (local time), Apple announced the US prices for the base models of the iPhone 15 series: $799 (128GB) for the standard model, $899 (128GB) for the Plus, $999 (128GB) for the Pro, and $1,199 (256GB) for the Pro Max. Contrary to expectations of a price increase, these prices remain almost the same as the iPhone 14 series.

However, the situation changes when the phones come to Korea. Although the won-dollar exchange rate has dropped significantly compared to last year, the launch price in Korean won was set based on last year’s exchange rate, effectively resulting in a price increase.

In Korea, the base model of the iPhone 15 series is priced at 1.25 million won. This is significantly more expensive than the US price converted at the current exchange rate, which is 1,060,273 won, or 1,166,300 won including 10% tax.

As a result, posts are continuously appearing on iPhone-related internet cafes and communities, with people considering purchasing iPhones during trips to Japan or asking about how to buy them there. It is also known that many are planning late vacations to nearby Japan specifically to purchase the iPhone 15 series.

iPhone 15 Pro [Image source: Provided by Apple]

According to Apple Japan’s official website, the price of the iPhone 15 Pro model (256GB) is 174,800 yen (approximately 1.57 million won). Compared to the same model’s price on Apple Korea’s official website (1.7 million won), it is about 130,000 won cheaper.

Apple’s neglect of the Korean market has been a recurring issue. Since the iPhone X in 2017 through to the iPhone 14 last year, price controversies have arisen with each new series release, but Apple has taken no action. Korea was also excluded from the first wave of countries for the iPhone 15 series launch.

Industry insiders believe this is because “Apple assumes that Korean consumers’ loyalty is so high that even with high prices, the customer base will not shrink.” There is also an analysis that the perception of “products sell better in Korea when they are expensive” plays a role.

Meanwhile, the recent report by the overseas IT media outlet Phonearena, citing the US e-commerce platform Picodi, analyzed how many days one must work to afford the iPhone 15 Pro in different countries. This statistic, called the ‘iPhone Index,’ calculates the time required to earn the $999 (approximately 1.32 million won) price of the iPhone 15 Pro based on average wages.

The survey found that in Korea, it takes an average of 10.1 days of work to purchase the iPhone 15 Pro, ranking 16th out of 47 countries surveyed. This is similar to countries like the UK (9.9 days), Finland (9.9 days), and France (10.2 days). The country with the lowest iPhone Index was Switzerland (4.2 days).