Same box, same cameras, same purple. And yet the iPhone 17 can cost you a couple of hundred dollars more just because of where you live.
The cheap seats
The base iPhone 17 with 256GB launched at $799 in the US. That's the cheapest major market in a comparison by Gulf News. Saudi Arabia was right there too, at about $800, and Thailand around $860.
The pricey ones
In Germany and France the same phone costs €899, roughly $980. In the UK it's £799, so the number looks the same as in America, but in pounds it's close to $985. India sits at ₹82,900, about $940.
Why the gap?
Mostly taxes. US prices are shown before sales tax, which is added at the till. In Europe the price already includes VAT, often 19% to 25%. Add import duties, exchange rates and local pricing, and most countries end up 6% to 25% above the US.
Then there are the extreme cases. A Deutsche Bank price study, reported by Mezha, looked at the iPhone 17 Pro. Japan came out cheapest, at about $1,121. Turkey was the most expensive by far, at about $2,592, after a 2026 import registration rule added roughly $1,200 per phone. For that money you could almost fly to Tokyo and buy it there. Almost.
And Romania?
Apple has no official online store in Romania, so the price is set by local shops. The Mac Index, which tracks Apple prices worldwide, lists no official local price for Romania and compares it with the median instead.
Should you buy abroad?
Sometimes. A US iPhone looks cheaper, but add sales tax, maybe customs when you bring it home, and check your warranty. Inside the EU, buying from another country is easy and the warranty works the same. Compare the final price, not the sticker.