Apple's steep iPhone 18 Pro price hike in India raises questions about pricing strategy

Apple launched the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max on September 9, with the US base model rising by $100 to $1,199. In India, however, the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro now starts at ₹1,64,900—a ₹30,000 increase from the previous generation—while the Pro Max begins at ₹1,79,900.

Apple has attributed global price increases to rising memory and storage costs driven by AI data centre demand. However, the proportional increase in India far exceeds that in the US. A $100 hike translates to roughly ₹9,500 at current exchange rates, making the ₹30,000 Indian increase difficult to justify by component costs alone. Storage variants show even larger gaps, with the 1TB model priced at ₹2,39,900 and the 2TB at ₹3,14,900.

The discrepancy suggests Apple's pricing may reflect its perception of how Indian consumers value the iPhone brand, rather than production expenses alone.