Why Indians can't afford an iPhone

Apple's $50 hike in the price of its iPhone X in India, following a hike in the customs duty announced in the budget, will make its already difficult-to-afford smartphones even more unaffordable for Indians, who already work among the longest number of hours to pay the highest price for an iPhone in the world.The iPhone X, which costs just a shade under $1000 in the US - at $999 - has already seen two price increases in India since its November 3 launch last year due to hike in customs duty. The first hike, from 10 to 15 per cent was announced in December, followed by the hike in the budget.

Following the latest hike, an iPhone X now costs the most in India, while it's not the US which is home to the cheapest iPhone X - it's Japan.

At the time of its launch in India, in November last year, India was the 10th most expensive place to buy an iPhone X.

An average Indian has to shell out 10 times his/her monthly income in order to afford an iPhone X - the highest in the world.

While Indians aren't as desperate as a certain 17-year old Chinese boy, who in 2011 sold off his kidney in order to buy an iPhone and an iPad, they will still need to slog for a long time at minimum wage in order to buy the iPhone X.An average Indian needs to clock in 24 times the number of working hours as an average American to be able to afford an iPhone X. In fact, even an average Chinese requires two-third less time than an average Indian to work in order to afford an iPhone X.