iPhone and Samsung Galaxy launch prices — South Africa vs the US
Smartphones from Apple and Samsung cost significantly more in South Africa compared to the United States, with local residents paying as much as 52.2% more for iPhones and 41.2% extra for Samsung Galaxy S smartphones over the years.
This is even when removing sales taxes like South Africa’s VAT from the equation.
The remaining confounding factors include South Africa’s import duties, differences in international shipping costs, and the cost of foreign currency exchange forward cover contracts.
Launch prices in South Africa between 2012 and 2022 were between 1.98% and 52.20% more for iPhones, and 7.34% to 41.20% higher for Samsung Galaxy S series smartphones than in the US.
It should be noted that US list prices exclude sales taxes, while South African pricing includes VAT.
To account for this, we reduced South African launch prices by the VAT rate at the time. South Africa increased VAT from 14% to 15% in April 2018.
Apple iPhone launch prices: South Africa vs the US
iPhone launch prices were 27.71% higher on average between 2012 and 2022 in South Africa than in the United States.
The most significant difference between the US and South African launch prices was seen with the iPhone 5, which cost R5,367 in the US at the exchange rate at the time.
South African pricing for the phone was R2,802 higher at R8,169.
The price of the iPhone 6 was also relatively high in comparison to the US. The smartphone was available to US customers for R7,282 upon its release.
However, those living in South Africa had to fork out R10,750 for the device when it arrived in the country.
The trend changed significantly with the launch of the iPhone 12, which was only R264 more expensive in South Africa than in the US.
However, Apple’s iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 — the two subsequent iPhone generations — were R3,259 and R3,439 more expensive in South Africa.
A launch price comparison for Apple’s iPhones from 2012 to 2022 is summarised in the table below. We used pricing for the standard iPhones with the lowest storage configurations.
| iPhone launch pricing 2012 to 2022: US vs South Africa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device | Launch pricing US | Exchange rate at launch | US launch price in rands | Launch pricing SA | Difference (%) |
| iPhone 5 | $649.00 | R8.27/$ | R5,367.23 | R8,169.00 | R2,801.77 (+52.20%) |
| iPhone 5s | $649.00 | R10.01/$ | R6,496.49 | R8,599.00 | R2,102.51 (+32.36%) |
| iPhone 6 | $649.00 | R11.22/$ | R7,281.78 | R10,750.00 | R3,468.22 (+47.63%) |
| iPhone 6s | $649.00 | R13.54/$ | R8,787.46 | R10,147.00 | R1,359.54 (+15.47%) |
| iPhone 7 | $649.00 | R13.72/$ | R8,904.28 | R11,179.00 | R2,274.72 (+25.55%) |
| iPhone 8 | $699.00 | R13.13/$ | R9,177.87 | R11,609.00 | R2,431.13 (+26.49%) |
| iPhone X | $999.00 | R13.87/$ | R13,856.13 | R17,424.00 | R3,568.02 (+25.75%) |
| iPhone 11 | $699.00 | R14.56/$ | R10,177.44 | R12,749.00 | R2,571.56 (+25.27%) |
| iPhone 12 | $799.00 | R16.69/$ | R13,335.31 | R13,599.00 | R263.69 (+1.98%) |
| iPhone 13 | $799.00 | R14.75/$ | R11,785.25 | R15,044.00 | R3,258.75 (+27.65) |
| iPhone 14 | $799.00 | R17.61/$ | R14,070.39 | R17,509.00 | R3,438.61 (+24.44%) |
Samsung Galaxy S launch prices: South Africa vs the US
South African residents paid an average of 29.1% more than those living in the US for Samsung’s Galaxy S series smartphones between 2012 and 2022.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 saw the most significant difference between South African and US launch pricing, with the Samsung Galaxy S22 following closely behind.
Buyers living in the US could get the Galaxy S4 for R5,176 at launch. However, those in South Africa had to pay R2,133 more for the handset.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 was launched in 2022 and cost US residents R12,161 at the time. South African residents had to pay R4,838 more for the handset when it arrived in the country.
A launch price comparison for Samsung’s Galaxy S series smartphones from 2012 to 2022 is summarised in the table below. We used pricing for the base Galaxy S models with the lowest storage configurations.
| Samsung Galaxy S launch pricing 2012 to 2022: US vs South Africa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device | Launch pricing US | Exchange rate at launch | US launch price in rands | Launch pricing SA | Difference (%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S3 | $599.00 | R8.34/$ | R4,995.66 | R6,450.00 | R1,454.34 (+29.11%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | $579.00 | R8.94/$ | R5,176.26 | R7,309.00 | R2,132.74 (+41.20%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | $649.99 | R11.05/$ | R7,182.39 | R8,441.00 | R1,258.61 (+17.52%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S6 | $600.00 | R11.62/$ | R6,972.00 | R9,459.00 | R2,487.00 (+35.67%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | $669.00 | R15.87/$ | R10,617.03 | R11,867.00 | R1,249.97 (+11.77%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S8 | $750.00 | R13.06/$ | R9,795.00 | R13,329.00 | R3,534.00 (+36.08%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S9 | $799.99 | R12.08/$ | R9,663.88 | R13,329.00 | R3,665.12 (+37.93%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 | $899.00 | R13.62/$ | R12,244.38 | R16,149.00 | R3,904.62 (+31.89%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 | $999.00 | R15.06/$ | R15,044.94 | R16,149.00 | R1,104.06 (+7.34%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 | $799.00 | R14.53/$ | R11,609.47 | R15,299.00 | R3,689.53 (+31.78%) |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 | $799.00 | R15.22/$ | R12,160.78 | R16,999.00 | R4,838.22 (+39.79%) |
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