Apple’s second-largest iPhone manufacturing hub has Asia’s priciest iPhone 18 Pro

India, Apple's second-largest iPhone manufacturing hub, has the highest iPhone 18 Pro price among the Asian markets surveyed, with the 256GB model costing US$1,704.

It is the third-most expensive market globally, behind Türkiye at $2,804 and Brazil at $2,389, according to Japanese price comparison site Nukeni.

Within Asia, it is followed by Saudi Arabia at $1,518, the Philippines at $1,513, Vietnam at $1,502 and China at $1,491.

Nukeni compares official Apple retail prices across countries and territories, converting local prices into U.S. dollars using exchange rates.

India's high price comes despite its growing importance to Apple's global supply chain. The country is the world's fourth-largest iPhone market and Apple's second-largest manufacturing hub after China, accounting for about 25% of global iPhone production, according to technology news outlet Rest of World.

Market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research attributes India's higher iPhone prices largely to local taxes, import duties and currency fluctuations.

Although Apple assembles a growing share of its iPhones in India, most components are still imported. Only 18% to 20% of the electronic components used in locally manufactured iPhones originate domestically.

At the cheaper end of the regional ranking, Hong Kong has the lowest price at $1,338, followed by Malaysia at $1,345 and Japan at $1,390.

Globally, the U.S. is the cheapest market at $1,199, followed by Canada at $1,288. Hong Kong and Malaysia rank third and fourth while the United Arab Emirates rounds out the five cheapest markets at $1,388.