iPhone Duo at Rs 2,99,900: Why Apple’s First Foldable Costs More in India

Apple’s first foldable iPhone has arrived in India at a starting price of Rs 2,99,900 for the 256GB model, with the top-end 2TB version priced at Rs 4,44,900. In the US, the iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, which translates to roughly Rs 1.90 lakh.

On the surface, that makes the Indian starting price nearly 58 percent higher than the US list price. But a straight comparison between the two prices does not tell the entire story. Once taxes and the cost of importing the first-generation foldable into India are taken into account, the underlying gap becomes considerably smaller.

The ET Digital team was at Apple Park in Cupertino for Apple’s launch event, where the company introduced the iPhone Duo alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

The India-US price gap is smaller than it looks

The first factor to consider is taxation. The $1,999 US price is quoted before sales tax, which varies from state to state. Neil Shah, co-founder and industry analyst at Counterpoint Research, estimates that sales tax can add around 6 to 10 percent, taking the actual US purchase price closer to $2,200.

In India, the Rs 2,99,900 price already includes 18 percent GST.

The second factor is Apple’s manufacturing footprint.

Apple has significantly expanded iPhone production in India over the past few years, with locally assembled models helping keep the pricing of several iPhones more competitive. The iPhone Duo, however, is a first-generation foldable and is currently being imported into India as a completely built unit, or CBU.

The manufacturing requirements of a foldable are also considerably different from those of a conventional smartphone. Shah says the precision involved in producing the iPhone Duo means it could take Apple some time to establish local production, with the imported device attracting around 28 percent duty.

Stripping out the taxes: iPhone Duo 256GB

Amount

India starting price Rs 2,99,900

Less 18% GST Rs 45,747

Price before GST Rs 2,54,153

Less estimated 28% import duty Rs 55,596

Estimated pre-tax India price Rs 1,98,557 (about $2,087)

US list price, before sales tax $1,999

Approximate pre-tax gap About $88

There is another layer to the calculation because GST on an imported phone is calculated on the value after applicable customs duty is added. In effect, the final tax burden includes GST applied after the duty component.

Strip those layers out and the underlying price of the iPhone Duo in India comes much closer to Apple’s US list price.

Shah estimates the underlying difference could be around $100 to $200, which he describes as broadly consistent with the pricing difference Apple has historically maintained between the US and other markets.

The headline gap, therefore, is substantially larger than the underlying difference once India’s tax and import structure is accounted for.

The bigger question is local manufacturing

That makes Apple’s supply chain an important factor in how the iPhone Duo could be priced in India in the future.

The device is a first-generation product, and establishing local production for a new foldable form factor could take time. Once Apple’s manufacturing partners gain experience with producing the device at scale, some of the costs associated with importing it could potentially come out of the equation.

Shah believes this could eventually bring future generations closer to the pricing parity seen across Apple’s locally manufactured Pro and base iPhone models.

“This is a first generation product,” Shah says, adding that the second and third generations could move closer to the pricing levels seen for Apple’s other iPhones.

For now, Indian buyers choosing to be among the first to own Apple’s foldable are paying a premium partly because of its imported status. The iPhone Duo will be available for pre-order from October 16, with sales beginning October 23.

iPhone 17 prices rise as component costs come under pressure

The iPhone Duo’s pricing also comes at a time when component costs are becoming a broader challenge for the smartphone industry.

Apple has also increased the prices of the iPhone 17 lineup in India following the launch of the iPhone 18 series. The move comes against a backdrop of rising component and memory costs, an issue that is affecting the wider electronics industry and not just Apple.

Apple CEO Tim Cook had previously indicated that the company had been absorbing some of the impact of higher costs, but there is a limit to how long manufacturers can continue absorbing those increases without passing at least some of them on to consumers.

The pressure is not limited to iPhones either. Apple has also increased prices of some Mac models, reflecting the broader cost environment across consumer electronics.

The iPhone 17 price increase is therefore a separate part of Apple’s India pricing story. While the Duo’s higher launch price is primarily tied to its first-generation foldable design, import structure and current manufacturing footprint, the wider price increases across Apple’s portfolio come as the industry deals with higher component costs.