New iPhones: why is Apple's pricing the same in pounds and dollars? (BRexit)

Guardian UK ^ | Wednesday 13 September 2017 08.53 EDT | Alex Hern

[a fool in paradise]

New products have same price in both currencies, suggesting Apple is taking advantage of British customers’ acceptance of price hikes since the EU Referendum

Tuesday’s iPhone X launch event brought familiar news to British viewers: the Brexit-induced devaluation of the pound means that everything is really, really expensive.

Every product announced by Apple onstage has the same price in pounds and dollars, from the cheapest Apple TV – £149 or $149 – to the most expensive iPhone X, a grand more at $1,149 or £1,149...

...The prices quoted for US customers are exclusive of sales taxes, which vary state-by-state, while the UK prices include VAT. A VAT-free 256GB iPhone X would cost £957.50, for instance, significantly closer to the £863 it would cost if the dollar price were simply converted to pounds.

Of course, that still leaves a margin of almost £100 which Apple pockets for itself.

The company hasn’t replied to a request for comment, but last time it hiked prices, in October 2016, it suggested in a statement that it wasn’t just Brexit to blame: “Apple suggests product prices internationally on the basis of several factors, including currency exchange rates, local import laws, business practices, taxes, and the cost of doing business. These factors vary from region to region and over time, such that international prices are not always comparable to US suggested retail prices.”...

[a fool in paradise]

Today’s exchange rate:

1 US Dollar equals
0.75 British Pound

[yldstrk]

the phones should be free if you buy their service

[V V Camp Enari 67-68]

Exactly! Greed begets greed!

[RandallFlagg]

iPhone ping.

[Myrddin]

I haven't been on a vacation in a very long time. On my last vacation in April 1999, I visited friends in Cardiff. We discussed the cost of goods in the UK vs US. I noticed that many items were priced in British pounds with the number number as US dollars. I said I wouldn't be purchasing any of those items as the exchange rate was USD $1.63 to 1 UK pound. My friends indicated it had long been a practice of paying pounds for dollars in the UK. The practice isn't new. Apple is just following common practice. If you check out the "Deal of the Day" on the Apress.com book site, you'll notice the price is $9.99 or 9.99 pounds for the same item.