When many people travel to Japan, in addition to cosmeceuticals, home appliances and game consoles, they will also consider buying an iPhone. Although there are many inconveniences, the Japanese yen is now super cheap. After converting the Japanese selling price into New Taiwan dollars, it is thousands of dollars cheaper than in Taiwan. The bad news is that this price difference has now been narrowed directly by Apple.
The Japanese Apple Store updated the prices in the early morning of July 18 and increased the prices of the iPhone 17 series, iPhone Air, iPhone 17e and iPhone 16 without warning, with increases ranging from 8% to 11%. Among them, the iPhone Air has the highest increase rate, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB also increased by 20,000 yen at a time, which is equivalent to approximately NT$4,000.
iPhone prices in Japan suddenly increase by up to 11%! The price difference between Taiwan and Japan is less than 2,000 yuan
Apple has not issued an explanation for this iPhone price increase in Japan, so the reason behind it is still unclear. Are you not sure if it is also the iPhone’s turn to increase the price? However, my personal guess is that it is not the case. If the price of iPhone is really going to increase, it will start from the United States, so it is more likely that the yen will continue to weaken. The yen has recently reached a 40-year low, and sales in Japan have shrunk when converted into U.S. dollars. Apple therefore needs to adjust selling prices to bring prices in Japan back closer to those in other markets.
This adjustment covers the main iPhones currently sold on Apple’s official website in Japan, ranging from the entry-level iPhone 17e to the highest-end iPhone 17 Pro Max. The new and old selling prices of each model are compared with the same capacity. The detailed changes are as follows:
| model | capacity | Old price (yen) | New price (yen) | Increase amount and percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 256GB | ¥194,800 | ¥214,800 | ¥20,000／approximately 10% |
| iPhone 17 Pro | 256GB | ¥179,800 | ¥194,800 | ¥15,000/approx. 8% |
| iPhone Air | 256GB | ¥159,800 | ¥177,800 | ¥18,000／approximately 11% |
| iPhone 17e | 256GB | ¥99,800 | ¥107,800 | ¥8,000／approximately 8% |
| iPhone 17 | 256GB | ¥129,800 | ¥142,800 | ¥13,000／approximately 10% |
| iPhone 16 | 128GB | ¥114,800 | ¥124,800 | ¥10,000/approx. 9% |
In terms of increase ratio, the price of iPhone Air 256GB increased from 159,800 yen to 177,800 yen, an increase of about 11%, which is the model with the highest increase this time. Although the iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB has an increase of about 10%, the increase amount reaches 20,000 yen, which is the largest increase among the six models.
Although the iPhone 17e only increased by 8,000 yen, this price increase also announced that the entry-level model has officially crossed the 100,000 yen threshold and reached 107,800 yen. The price of the standard iPhone 17 has increased from 129,800 yen to 142,800 yen, an increase of 13,000 yen.
Seeing that the prices in Japan have increased a lot, what everyone wants to know most is: “Is it cheaper to buy an iPhone in Japan now?”
Here we use 1 Japanese yen to NT$0.20 for trial calculation:
| model | new price in japan | Approximately NT$ | Taiwan official selling price | Japan is cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB | ¥214,800 | NT$42,960 | NT$44,900 | NT$1,940 |
| iPhone 17 Pro 256GB | ¥194,800 | NT$38,960 | NT$39,900 | NT$940 |
| iPhone Air 256GB | ¥177,800 | NT$35,560 | NT$36,900 | NT$1,340 |
| iPhone 17e 256GB | ¥107,800 | NT$21,560 | NT$21,900 | NT$340 |
| iPhone 17 256GB | ¥142,800 | NT$28,560 | NT$29,900 | NT$1,340 |
| iPhone 16 128GB | ¥124,800 | NT$24,960 | NT$25,900 | NT$940 |
As can be seen from the table, Japan’s iPhone is still cheaper than Taiwan’s after the price increase, but the gap is not as obvious as in the past. The biggest price difference is between the iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB, which is priced at about NT$42,960 in Japan, and the official price in Taiwan is NT$44,900. The difference between the two is still about NT$1,940.
The converted price of iPhone 17 Pro 256GB in Japan is about NT$38,960, and the price in Taiwan is NT$39,900, which is only about NT$940. The iPhone 17e 256GB only has a difference of about NT$340. If the exchange rate changes slightly, or if a credit card adds overseas transaction fees, it may not be cheaper at all.
Even for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which seems to have the largest price difference, if a credit card charges a 1.5% overseas transaction fee, the fee alone will be close to NT$650, and the original advantage of about NT$1,940 will be reduced to about NT$1,300. This does not include the exchange prices of different banks, nor does it include the time cost of visiting several stores to find spot goods.
Therefore, compared to the past, buying an iPhone in Japan is no longer so attractive.
If you still feel that saving more than 1,000 yuan is worth it, remember to also find stores that can offer tax refunds, such as Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera and other large electronics mass merchandisers. The Japanese Apple Store will stop providing consumption tax exemption services for non-Japanese residents such as foreign tourists as early as June 2022.
If you are not aware of the shutter sound part, it has now been changed to make a sound when used in Japan. However, after leaving Japan, the system will change to normal and turn off the camera shutter sound according to the silent setting when it determines that the device has left Japan. In other words, you can still take pictures silently when you return to Taiwan (or other countries).
Source: KOCPC Chinese