Apple's first foldable phone, iPhone Duo, starts at NT$74,900 in Taiwan, which is relatively cheap when compared globally.

Apple's first foldable phone, iPhone Duo, was officially unveiled. The price in Taiwan starts at 74,900 yuan, and the top-spec 2TB version reaches 118,900 yuan. As soon as the price was announced, many Taiwanese fruit fans gasped. However, if we compare the prices in Taiwan with the global market, the result may be much more "beautiful" than imagined.

Some netizens compiled the prices on Apple's official websites in many countries and found that, looking at the 256GB version, Taiwan is actually relatively cheaper among the 12 markets. After conversion, it is only a few hundred dollars behind Japan and China.

Please read on...

Take a look at iPhone Duo prices in 12 countries around the world

According to the official selling price of iPhone Duo 256GB announced by Apple's official website in various countries, and roughly converted into New Taiwan Dollars based on the current exchange rate, the prices from low to high are roughly as follows:

United States: US$1,999 (approximately NT$62,950)

Hong Kong: HKD 17,499 (approximately NT$70,270)

Malaysia: RM9,499 (approximately NT$74,060)

Taiwan: NT$74,900

Japan: 364,800 yen (approximately NT$74,826)

China: 15,999 yuan (approximately NT$75,080)

Thailand: 79,900 baht (approximately NT$76,430)

Singapore: 3,099 Singapore dollars (approximately NT$77,200)

South Korea: 3.29 million won (approximately NT$77,350)

Vietnam: 64.999 million VND (approximately NT$79,020)

Australia: AUD 3,499 (approximately NT$ 79,530)

UK: £1,999 (approximately NT$85,260)

Looking at these 12 markets, Taiwan is about the 5th cheapest. On the surface, the cheapest one is in the United States, where US$1,999 is only about 62,950 yuan. However, please note that the price listed on the US Apple official website is before tax, and states will add different tax rates according to regulations, so the actual checkout price will increase even higher.

It is worth noting that when many Taiwanese fruit fans traveled to Japan in the past, they would compare the prices of Japanese iPhones to see if they could take advantage of the sweet exchange rate to save some money. However, this time the iPhone Duo is priced at 364,800 yen in Japan, which is equivalent to about 74,826 yuan, and there is almost no price difference with the price in Taiwan of 74,900 yuan.

In addition, there are usually no tax rebates for tourists buying iPhones in Japan, and the warranty and after-sales service for cross-border purchases are not as convenient as those from Taiwanese companies. The appeal of buying iPhones in Japan simply to save money has been greatly reduced.

In other words, iPhone Duo is indeed not cheap at more than 70,000 yuan in Taiwan at first glance, but when compared with global prices, it is actually one of the "sweet price" markets. At least Taiwanese Apple fans who want to buy an iPhone Duo this year may no longer have to fly to Japan to bring one back.