Apple made its highly anticipated launch on September 14 and introduced the new iPhone 13 series. With its innovations, features and design; Although it has made a name for itself with every detail you can think of, as you can guess, the new iPhones are the most talked about price in our country.
So what was the situation with the first iPhones? To find out, we need to go back to 2008, the year Apple entered Turkey with its iPhones. The first iPhone to enter our country was the iPhone 3G, and at that time it was sold through Turkcell and Vodafone with limited stocks.
‘The iPhone you’ve been waiting for. In Turkey’
The arrival of the iPhone in Turkey with the iPhone 3G ‘The iPhone you’ve been waiting for. It was announced with the slogan ‘In Turkey’. The impressive features of the iPhone 3G at that time were explained at length with slogans such as ‘Internet in Your Pocket’ and ‘High Technology’. All you had to do to have the phone was to fill out the pre-sale form and apply via Turkcell and Vodafone.
Over the years, this system has changed, the list of places selling iPhones has expanded, and finally, in 2014, Apple opened its first store in Turkey in Istanbul. Today, it is possible to buy all of Apple’s products both from the official Apple Turkey website, from stores, and from various technology markets and e-commerce platforms.
Without further ado, let’s move on to the prices that will take you on a sad journey. However, it is worth noting; The prices in the list are the prices offered for the lowest storage space in each model for both the USA and Turkey. As the storage space increases, the prices increase accordingly. So all the prices you’ll see on our list are the lowest prices for iPhones offered at that time.
The price change of iPhones both in our country and in their home country:
- iPhone 3G: US sales price: 199 dollars, Turkey sales price 1. 199 TL
- iPhone 3GS: US selling price: 599 dollars, Turkey selling price: 1.535 TL
- iPhone 4: USA selling price: 599 dollars, Turkey selling price: 1.599 TL
- iPhone 4S: US selling price: 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 2. 019 TL
- iPhone 5: US selling price: 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 2.149 TL
- iPhone 5S: US selling price: 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 2. 149 TL
- iPhone 5C: US selling price: 549 dollars, Turkey selling price: 1, 849 TL
- iPhone 6: US selling price: 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 2. 349 TL
- iPhone 6 Plus: US selling price: 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 2. 649 TL
- iPhone 6S: US selling price: 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 3. 099 TL
- iPhone 6S Plus: US selling price: 749 dollars, Turkey selling price: 3. 499 TL
- iPhone SE 2016: US sales price: 399 dollars, Turkey sales price: 1. 999 TL
- iPhone 7: US selling price is 649 dollars, Turkey selling price: 3. 799 TL
- iPhone 7 Plus: US selling price: 769 dollars, Turkey selling price: 4. 449 TL
- iPhone 8: US selling price: 699 dollars, Turkey selling price: 4.199 TL
- iPhone 8 Plus: US selling price: 799 dollars, Turkey selling price: 4. 799 TL
- iPhone X: US selling price: 999 dollars, Turkey selling price: 6. 099 TL
- iPhone Xs: US selling price: 749 dollars, Turkey selling price: 9. 899 TL
- iPhone Xs Max: US selling price: 999 dollars, Turkey selling price: 10. 999 TL
- iPhone XR: US selling price: 1. 099 dollars, Turkey selling price: 7. 099 TL
- iPhone 11: US selling price: 699 dollars, Turkey selling price: 7. 299 TL
- iPhone 11 Pro: US selling price: 999 dollars, Turkey selling price: 10. 999 TL
- iPhone 11 Pro Max: US selling price: 1. 099 dollars, Turkey selling price: 11.999 TL
- iPhone SE 2020: US selling price: 383 dollars, Turkey selling price: 5. 299 TL
- iPhone 12 mini: US selling price: 699 dollars, Turkey selling price: 9.999 TL
- iPhone 12: US selling price: 799 dollars, Turkey selling price is 10.999 TL
- iPhone 12 Pro: US selling price: 999 dollars, Turkey selling price: 14.999 TL
- iPhone 12 Pro Max: US selling price: 1.099 dollars, Turkey selling price: 16.999 TL
- iPhone 13 mini: US selling price: 699 dollars, Turkey selling price 10. 999 TL
- iPhone 13: US selling price: 799 dollars, Turkey selling price: 11.999 TL
- iPhone 13 Pro: US selling price: 999 dollars, Turkey selling price: 15. 999 TL
- iPhone 13 Pro Max: US selling price: 1. 099 dollars, Turkey selling price: 17.999 TL
Why did the prices increase so much?
While writing this content, I frequently visited the iPhone news that we shared with you during the launch periods in the past, and I always saw the same discussions in the comments section. Why are the prices so high? When you say exchange rate difference and taxes, what happened when the price of a phone became 17.999 TL? For example, when the iPhone 3G went on sale in Turkey, 1 US dollar was around 1.30 TL. When the iPhone 13 appeared, it was around 1 US dollar 8.40 TL. In addition to the exchange rate difference, the taxes levied on phones in our country are not to be underestimated.
In an article we shared with you before, we explained this situation through an example. When buying a mobile phone in Turkey, we pay 1% share of the Ministry of Culture, 10% TRT banderole fee, 50% SCT and finally 18% VAT. When these heavy taxes are combined with the exchange rate difference, this sad scene emerges.
Of course, this is not just for iPhones. At least, we find it difficult to access many things, from a mid-range smartphone to an efficient computer, that we can no longer explain that they are no longer a luxury, because the prices are quite high. So, if this situation changes, will prices improve? If TL gains value and taxes are lowered to reasonable levels, maybe one day, why not. . .
If you say that I will still take your review video: