iPhone prices increased in India after import duty hike: Here’s the new price list

Apple hiked the price of its iPhones, excluding iPhone SE, after the government raised the import duty on mobile phones.

Here’s the new price list for iPhones in India (REUTERS)

Apple has marginally increased the price of iPhones in India in view of the government hiking the duty on imported cellphones. However, the cost of the iPhone SE remained unchanged because it was being assembled in the country since June.

The average surge in prices comes up to roughly 3.5%.

The latest iPhone X (64GB model) is now available for ₹92,430, as compared to ₹89,000, whereas the top-end model with 256GB storage is priced at ₹1,05,720, up from ₹1,02,000. The price hike has also affected the two-year-old iPhone 6 model, which is now available for ₹30,780 (32GB model). The iPhone 6S (128GB model) , on the other hand, costs ₹50,660 -- up from ₹49,000.

Here's the complete list:

Here's the list of new price of iPhones. (HT Photo)

Here's the list of new price of iPhones. (HT Photo)

The Union government raised the import tax from 10% to 15% on imported handsets in a move to promote the "Make in India" initiative. Apple, which imports an estimated 88% of its smartphones to the country, was believed to be one of the top brands affected by the decision .

With the western and Chinese markets slowing down, Apple has been eyeing India for its next round of growth. According to the company's latest quarterly earnings, Apple registered double-digit growth in the country during the fourth quarter of the year. "...revenue from emerging markets outside of greater China was up 40%, with great momentum in India, where revenue doubled year over year," CEO Tim Cook said during the company's earnings call last month.

Apple reportedly touched $2 billion sales in India recently, although it was badly hit by the demonetisation drive. Apple India posted sales of ₹11,619 crore ($1.8 billion) for the year ended March 2017, up from ₹9,937 crore in the year-ago period (translating to 17% growth in a country), Reuters reported last week.

"Last year, older generation iPhones like 4S and 5S entered the mix for Apple and sold very well. For consumers accustomed to seeing Apple models at a minimum price of $400, older generation iPhones proved to be very appealing. What happened, as a result, was that it brought down the overall ASPs for Apple, and thus the slowdown in the pace of growth," Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint Research, said.