Real cost of iPhone 16

PEARS: IS IT REALLY CHEAPER TO FLY TO THE US TO BUY APPLE'S LATEST?

»There are more than a few problems with this idea.

If you believe everything you read on X, you'd think that Apple iPhones in South Africa are twice as expensive as in the US (you'd also believe that ActionSA has 25% of the national vote and that Julius Malema is president).

The "analysis" will tell you that the new iPhone 16 Pro costs $999 (which will lazily be converted to R17 000 instead of far closer to R18 000 at current exchange rates), based on a slide from Apple's Monday keynote.

Of course, this is not entirely accurate as the 16 Pro models start at $999, while the 16 Pro Max models start at $1 199.

Those same posts - with hundreds of thousands of views - will compare the base models to the highest-spec 16 Pro (ITB of stor age) and be completely outraged at the fact that they cost more than double the price! The theory then goes that it would surely be cheaper to fly to the US and buy a new iPhone than to purchase one locally.

After all, a return flight to New York can be found for as little as R13 000 (via Abu Dhabi) or R15 000 via London or Istanbul.

You would presumably need to pay for a US visa and possibly even a UK one. And there's the rather large hotel bill you'll incur, even for a night.