Where’s the cheapest place to buy an iPhone or iPad?

Got a few mins to check out CommSec’s latest ‘iPad/iPhone Index’?

You’ll find it in PDF form here, as a four page document.

The index was first launched by CommSec in January 2007, as an ‘iPod index.’

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It was billed as "a modern way of looking at purchasing power theory. That is, the theory that the same good should be sold for the same price across the globe once taking into account exchange rates. The Economist magazine has for some time maintained its Big Mac index for the same purpose – that is, tracking the concept of purchasing power parity".

On current iPad & iPhone pricing, CommSec says "the Aussie dollar could be regarded as, at best, as 'fairly-valued' or perhaps a little 'expensive'. Last year we thought the currency was somewhat 'under-valued'."

The document linked above shows the "Australia slides" in the index, and starts off by noting economic trends, and asking "Is the Aussie dollar too strong?"

CommSec’s iPad index shows that "Australia is now the 20th cheapest country in the world (of 57 nations) to buy an Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch tablet device in US dollar terms. This time last year, Australia was second cheapest to buy the iPad Air 2 tablet".

We’re also told that "last year the Aussie dollar was near US69 cents,’ but that this year "the Aussie dollar is near US76 cents".

A higher US dollar would suggest lower prices, but of course it all depends on what Apple charges Australians and when the company changes its price structures, something the company doesn’t do that often. 

Then there’s CommSec’s iPhone index pages.

Here we learn that "Australia is now the 17th cheapest country in the world (of 57 nations) to buy an Apple iPhone 6s Plus in US dollar terms. This time last year, Australia was fifth cheapest to buy the iPhone 6 Plus".

So, the price has clearly gone up in relative terms.

Of course, if you’re not buying your phone outright and are getting it on a plan, you probably don’t really care too much what these indexes say.

After all, unless you’re a regular traveller, you’re not going to bother or likely even be able to get a phone on a plan from another country if you intend using it full time in Australia, or you’ll be paying two sets of fees to access two separate phone networks in two separate countries.

So, what else does CommSec have to say about this year’s results?

• Well, we’re told that, "on current pricing, Aussie tourists could save over $200 by buying an iPad Pro 12.9-inch tablet in Hong Kong rather than in Australia".
• "When the currency strengthens it does pose challenges for Aussie retailers. If they don’t pass on the benefits to customers in the form of cheaper imported goods, Aussie consumers may go online and source the goods from abroad. Or Aussie tourists may purchase goods abroad in preference of buying goods locally."
• Since the index first looked at iPods, CommSec says it has "since shifted the focus to Apple iPad and Apple iPhone prices".

More stats from the report:

• Last year the Aussie dollar was near US69.1 cents. Today, the Aussie dollar is near US75.7 cents. And that change has led to a big change in Australia’s position on US dollar pricing of these popular devices.
• On an iPad Pro 2 12.9-inch 32gb Wi-Fi device, Australia is the 20th cheapest place to buy the tablet.
• A year ago Australia was the second cheapest place to buy an earlier model of the popular tablet.
• Similarly on iPhone pricing, Australia has slipped from 5th to 17th over the past year.
• Australia is still amongst the cheapest places across the globe to buy popular technology, but the firmer currency means we are no longer rock-bottom.

For the rest of the report, click here (PDF link). The chart below can be seen in much larger text in the report, but we can see that the Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch 32GB costs US$946.14 in Australia dollars, which is way cheaper than Brazil at $2242.12. 

The iPhone 6s Plus, 16GB is US$930.99 for Australians, a far cry from the whopping US$1670.01 Argentines are slugged with. More details in the report!