Here’s what you’ll pay for an iPhone 6S in the BRICS nations

It’s no real surprise that here in South Africa we don’t pay the same for technology as those in the United States or Europe, but that doesn’t quite mean we’re always given the short end of the stick.

With the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus launching to its second wave of destinations from 16 October, we have a look at the prices of the iPhone 6S across the five fast growing emerging economies in the world, or better known as the BRICS nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

It should be noted as a baseline comparison, that the iPhone 6S 16GB model will cost US$649 in the United States. All prices are based on exchange rates taken on 12 October 2015.

South Africa

Local retailer iStore has announced that the iPhone 6S will retail for R11 799 in its stores or directly converted to US$887. This is for the base 16GB storage model, but luckily the iStore is also offering an exchange programme which lets prospective buyers get up to R6500 off their new iPhone purchase depending on which phone they plan on exchanging.

Read more: iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus available in South Africa from 16 October

India

One of our closest fellow BRICS nations, India has often dealt with some shocking technology prices, except for perhaps local brand Micromax and the like. The iPhone 6S 16GB will also go on sale in India from 16 October, but it will cost 62 000 rupees, directly converted to US$956 or R12 719.

Essentially, Indians pay around R1000 more than South Africans for the iPhone, and around US$300 more than those in the United States.

China

You can have an iPhone 6S in China for around US$837, or R11 129.

Apple has only been selling its wares in China for just over five years now, with the company reaping some massive financial rewards thanks to the previously untapped market. But what’s interesting about the Chinese iPhone 6S price perhaps lies in this little factoid: most of the iPhone 6S’ components are actually made within the country’s borders.

Brazil

If you thought that technology was expensive in India, have a look at Brazil. Brazilians haven’t only got issues when purchasing flagship phones, but the likes of the PlayStation 4 at launch as well, which retailed for around US$1845 compared to the now-reduced price of US$349 in America.

Currently, Brazil doesn’t have an official iPhone 6S price as the device has yet to launch in the country, but we can definitely make an educated guess based on the iPhone 6.

The iPhone 6 can be had for US$1230, or an astronomical R16 370 for a year-old phone. CNET remarks that its massively inflated price comes courtesy of the country’s import tax requirements, which means that Brazilians are required to fork out almost double the price of the iPhone 6’s US price tag.

Apple has promised that the iPhone 6S will however reach another 130 odd countries before the close of 2015, and it’s likely that Brazil will overtake Russia as the worst country to purchase Apple’s device.

Russia

The iPhone 6S will retail for ‎₽56990 in the far North, which is the second highest price of any nation after India. A direct conversion means that those in Russia are required to fork out almost US$300 to purchase an iPhone 6S at US$929, or R12 358.

Rather incredibly, before the Russian Ruble strengthened in April this year, Apple products were actually more expensive. The iPhone 6 Plus, for instance, retailed for ₽61990 in March 2015, and saw a 10% drop a month later thanks to the currency’s strengthening spell. This also came after a 35% spike in prices in December.