iPhone‘s birthplace, the US, is one of the biggest victims of Donald Trump’s reshaping of the global trading order —largely because Apple’s iconic product, the iPhone, is assembled in China, which faces the brunt of POTUS’s tariff tantrums.
Although Donald Trump exempted smartphones, computers and other tech devices from ‘reciprocal tariffs’, including the 125% levies imposed on Chinese imports, he hasn’t backed down on his ‘Made in USA’ iPhones ambitions, yet.
‘Made in USA’ iPhones could triple in price
US tech analysts have already warned that iPhone prices could triple to $3500 ( ₹3.1 lakh) if they are assembled in US.
Given the growing uncertainty on whether Apple’s iPhone assembly would be shifted from China —which accounts for the majority production of the high-end phones — there have been speculations on how the prices would be affected.
We take a look at the iPhone 16 costs in its top 5 markets, and where it costs the least:
iPhone: How much does it cost in different countries?
Apple’s top five iPhone sellers are the United States, China, Europe India, and Japan. Here’s where it costs the least:
Evidently, Apple’s iPhone 16 costs the least in the US, as compared to the four other countries, where it is sold the most. These figures, however, may not remain the same if Trump’s ‘Made in USA’ iPhone dream turns into a reality.
What is the cost of making iPhones in US
At the moment, Apple makes over 80% of its products in China, at a labour cost of $40 per iPhone ( ₹3,500).
The same cost would increase five-fold, to $200 per iPhone ( ₹17, 219), for assembling and testing an iPhone in the US, a Bank of America Securities official told CNBC.
Why China is Apple’s major manufacturing hub
Earlier, Apple co-founder Tim Cook had also shared why US made iPhones are not feasible. He had mentioned that American workers don’t have the right skills, states a CNBC report.
“The reason is because of the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is,” Cook said when asked at a conference why Apple does so much production in China.
(The prices of iPhone 16 in various countries can vary depending on storage, specific models, exchange rates, sales tax)
