Want an iPhone Duo? Here are the cheapest countries to buy Apple’s foldable
Apple has finally made a foldable iPhone, and it has also made the “should I buy an iPhone” query sound more appropriate to be answered by a financial adviser. The iPhone Duo starts at Rs 2,99,900 in India for the 256GB model, putting it just Rs 100 short of the Rs 3 lakh mark. That makes it Apple’s most expensive iPhone yet and the priciest phone available in India.
But the price looks very different depending on where you buy it. In the US, the same base model starts at USD 1,999, or roughly around Rs 1.9 lakh. That is a gap of more than Rs 1 lakh, enough money to make international price comparisons a spreadsheet exercise.
Where is the iPhone Duo cheapest in the world?
The US has the lowest listed price among the markets compared, followed by Canada, Hong Kong and the UAE. India sits at the other end of the table.
| Country | iPhone Duo starting price | Approximate INR conversion |
| United States | USD 1,999 | Rs 1.9 lakh |
| Canada | CAD 2,999 | Rs 2.06 lakh |
| Hong Kong | HKD 17,499 | Rs 2.12 lakh |
| UAE | AED 8,499 | Rs 2.2 lakh |
| Japan | JPY 364,800 | Rs 2.27 lakh |
| China | CNY 15,999 | Rs 2.27 lakh |
| Singapore | SGD 3,099 | Rs 2.33 lakh |
| Germany | EUR 2,299 | Rs 2.54 lakh |
| United Kingdom | GBP 1,999 | Rs 2.57 lakh |
| India | Rs 2.99 lakh | Rs 2.99 lakh |
The US figure comes with a footnote. The USD 1,999 price excludes state sales tax, so the final amount depends on where the phone is purchased. Even after accounting for that, however, the difference with India remains substantial. The UAE is also worth noting because eligible tourists can claim a refund on VAT when leaving the country. That can make its already lower listed price more attractive, although the actual saving will depend on the applicable refund.
The iPhone Duo starts at Rs 2,99,900 for 256GB in India. The 512GB version costs Rs 3,24,900, while the 1TB and 2TB variants are priced at Rs 3,74,900 and Rs 4,49,900 respectively. That is a serious amount of money for any smartphone, regardless of how many times it folds.
Apple hasn’t provided a specific explanation for the Indian pricing. GST, import-related costs, currency movements and Apple’s local pricing structure can all influence the final price, but there is no official breakdown showing how much each factor contributes. Obviously, the premium that Apple charges in India for being Apple is also there. The company is charging nearly 58 percent more for the iPhone Duo in India than the US, based on the converted US price, compared to the 45 percent premium for the iPhone 18 Pro. Mind you, this is lower than the 60 percent-plus premium that Apple used to charge back in the day for the iPhone 11 Pro, but compared to last year’s iPhone 17 Pro models where the premium was around 35 percent, it has risen. Why, we can’t say.
Read: How much EMI you’ll have to pay to own the iPhone Duo in India
At approximately Rs 1.9 lakh, the US price is about Rs 1.1 lakh below the Indian starting price. For context, that difference is itself enough to buy a fairly capable Android flagship in India. The Duo is also significantly more expensive than rival foldables available in India. The Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 Ultra starts at Rs 1,99,999, while the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold costs Rs 1,86,999. That puts Apple’s foldable roughly Rs 1 lakh above Samsung’s and more than Rs 1.1 lakh above Google’s at the starting price.
Interestingly, Japan is listed at approximately Rs 2.27 lakh in the comparison. A round-trip flight from India to Japan can cost anywhere between Rs 37,000 to Rs 80,000 per person. So if someone already wants to travel to Japan, the saving on a high-storage Duo can make for some amusing math. You can travel to Japan, buy the iPhone Duo, make a holiday out of it and still pay less than what you would have in India. Same case for Dubai. Go, holiday, buy the iPhone, come back.
For Indian buyers, the Duo is clearly a luxury purchase which would require PAN disclosure and no all-cash spending. At Rs 2,99,900, it’s substantially more expensive than Samsung and Google’s competing foldables. If you specifically want Apple’s first foldable and are already invested in the company’s ecosystem, there might be a case for paying the premium. But if the priority is simply getting a good foldable phone, Samsung and Google offer considerably cheaper alternatives. For anyone already travelling to one of those markets, checking the local price makes sense.
Ultimately, Rs 2,99,900 is a new psychological line for Apple’s iPhone lineup in India. And at Rs 4,49,900 for 2TB, the iPhone Duo has reached the point where asking “Do I really need 2TB?” may be replaced by a much more important question – “Do I really need an iPhone?”
