Apple launches iPad Pro newModels and other a Redesigned iPad standardThe company announced the price adjustments for all its iPads in the world on October 18. However, despite the excitement surrounding the announcements, the company kept the prices unchanged.
This is great news for U.S. customers, but not so great for everyone else, who now need to pay as much as £500/€445/A$550/C$200 more to get an iPad Pro.
There’s no denying the fact that these price increases are tied to currency fluctuations, with all those currencies mentioned above falling in value against the dollar over the past few months. Nor are the increased prices unexpected–we had been predicting that prices would go up in the U.K. and elsewhere, and had been encouraging people to buy before new products launched for exactly that reason.
However, the price hikes are difficult to stomach at a moment when the cost per person is rising at the fastest pace in 40 years and inflation continues to rise.
It’s not just the rising cost of groceries and higher energy costs that we are having to adjust to. Imported goods and other goods will cost us much more than they did. The truth is that U.S. products are becoming more expensive and will cost us much more to purchase in the U.K. than they have for many decades.
Apple is ripping off everyone else?
It’s notable that prices haven’t risen in the U.S., despite the cost implications of various supply and production issues being experienced in the post-pandemic environment. One might be skeptical and suggest that Apple has placed a premium on its home market, driving up overseas prices to keep U.S. costs stable.
On the other hand, perhaps Apple’s calculations do add up. When currency adjustments are made at current U.S. price and local taxes are added (in the U.S., tax is added at point of sale but in other countries, the price you see includes local taxes), you will get numbers that are closer to overseas prices. Although an additional cost can still be seen that Apple would no doubt refer to as the “cost of doing business in your country.”
So we can’t blame Apple for the fact that various currencies have fallen against the dollar, but we can question anything above the resulting price once the currency is converted and local taxes added. We’ve got our calculators out and you can see our working below.
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The math
The pound has fallen against the dollar over the past few months, which means that on October 19, just after Apple announced the new iPads, £1 would buy you $1.12. Back on January 1 that same £1 would have bought you $1.35.
At today’s exchange rate, an iPad that costs $329 in the U.S. should convert to £293.75 in the U.K. And once you add VAT at 20% you get £352.50, which isn’t that far off the actual £369 cost. While that’s £50 more than what it cost at the beginning of October (£319), you’re only really paying £15 over the odds, once the weakness of the pound and local taxes are taken into account.
Interestingly, the same calculation done in January 2022 would have seen a converted price of £243.70, or £292.44 with VAT added on: roughly £27 less than the £319 price at that time. This could suggest that Apple has taken more of the U.K.’s business costs to make the entry-level iPad cheaper.
That’s the cheapest iPad accounted for. The most expensive iPad (iPad Pro 12.9-inch, 2TB, cellular) costs $2,399 in the US, which would convert to £2,141.96 in the UK and £2,570 once 20% VAT is added. It actually costs £2,679, which includes about £109 of additional costs.
That iPad Pro costs £530 more than the equivalent iPad Pro did in January 2022 (£2,149). Back then the converted amount would have been £2,132 including tax, just £17 below the actual price. In this case the real-terms price rise is much larger and we don’t imagine Apple will sell many 2TB 12.9-inch iPad Pro units in the UK at the new price.
It’s not only U.K. prices which have risen. In Europe that entry-level 9th-generation iPad costs €429 and the top-of-the-range iPad Pro starts at €3,024. The equivalent pricing for those models was €379 and €2,579 earlier this year. That’s an increase of €50 and €445 respectively.
Over the last few months, the euro has fallen against the dollar. Today €1 will buy you $0.98. Back on January 1 you’d have got $1.14 for your €1. Again, prices are now higher based upon the dollar’s exchange rate to the euro.
The cheapest iPad currently available in Australia is A$549. The starting price of the iPad Pro was A$499. The most expensive iPad Pro was A$3,549; it’s now A$4,099. That’s a difference of A$50 and A$550. The current exchange rate for one Australian dollar is $0.63 US dollars. On January 1, it would have been $0.73.
Canada is seeing a rise in its price. The C$449 iPad is the cheapest, and the C$3,179 iPad Pro is the most expensive, with 2TB of storage and cellular. The prices for the 12in iPad Pro were C$429, and $2979 respectively. That’s an increase of C$20 and C$200. You can buy $0.73 Canadian dollars right now. In January 1, $0.79 was the value. This is a decrease, although not as drastic as in other currencies.
Who’s to blame?
Currency fluctuations are a major factor in global price rises. Add tax on to that already inflated price and you will see a significant increase in what you’re expected to pay.
However, there’s more at work here than just currency fluctuations and tax. Apple’s entry-level iPad appears to have taken a price cut in order to minimize the price rise, while the iPad Pro models have experienced a real-terms increase in price that is beyond what can be explained using currency conversions. We believe that the additional costs stem from the higher cost of doing business in each nation as well as other factors like the high price for fuel and the rising cost of import goods from China.
Outside the U.S. we’ve had a good few years of relatively affordable Apple products. Now we are entering an age of unaffordability, and it’s bound to have implications for the company. Apple was already a brand known for its premium products. Now the company must make their expensive products more affordable.
We recommend that consumers search for discounts as soon as possible. Here are the deals roundups that will show you the best iPad prices.
