Buying an iPhone has never been about just walking into a store and paying “the price,” because depending on which country you’re standing in, that price can swing wildly. A new comparison of the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro across 35 markets, priced in USD using Apple’s own listings and September 28 exchange rates, confirms exactly that.
And if you’re shopping for one in India, here’s the part that stings: your neighbours in the Gulf are getting away with paying noticeably less.
In India, the iPhone 18 Pro comes in at $1,874. Head over to the UAE, and the same phone costs $1,388, a gap of nearly $486.
Saudi Arabia isn’t far behind the UAE either, pricing it at $1,519, still about $355 cheaper than what Indian buyers are shelling out.
Put simply, the phone costs roughly 35% more in India than in the UAE, and close to 23% more than in Saudi Arabia, despite being the exact same device.
Zoom out, and India’s $1,874 price tag puts it in the higher bracket of the 35 markets studied, ranking 33rd, ahead of only Brazil and Türkiye. The UAE, on the other hand, sits comfortably mid-table at 5th, while Saudi Arabia lands at 16th.
For context, the U.S. still remains the cheapest market at $1,199, meaning Indian buyers are paying about 56% more than their American counterparts, while UAE and Saudi Arabia buyers are paying noticeably closer to that baseline.
The takeaway? Taxes and import duties might make it a better deal to buy your next iPhone on a Dubai layover than back home.