iPhone Duo India price so high, you can fly to Bangkok, buy Duo, enjoy 2 nights, still save money

The iPhone Duo, which is Apple's first foldable phone, is here. But it is also a pricey phone, particularly in India. In fact, its India price of Rs 2,99,900 is so high that you can buy it for cheaper, and have a small vacation while doing it in Bangkok. Or some other nearby country like Dubai.

In Short

• The iPhone Duo is roughly Rs 70,000 cheaper in Bangkok
• You can go to Bangkok, buy the iPhone Duo and save money
• The iPhone Duo is also cheaper in places like Dubai and Hong Kong

It is no secret that we Indians love to save money. We want to buy the latest iPhone and this year the hype seems to be around the iPhone Duo. But we also want to save as much money as we can, even if we are ready to spend almost Rs 3,00,000 to begin with. Usually, you can save money on an iPhone by asking your NRI uncle to bring one for you from the US. But in case you don’t have a relative there, you have another way to save money on the iPhone Duo, go take a trip to Bangkok.

It’s a fun exercise, and chances are that you are probably not going to go to Bangkok to buy the iPhone Duo. But the math of it all checks out, that is if you decide to do it.

Hear us out. A vacation to Bangkok may not sound like a way to save money. But the math is in your favour. Due to various factors such as import duties and taxes, iPhones are usually more expensive in India as compared to places like Thailand. By how much, you ask? In the case of the iPhone Duo, the savings could be as much as Rs 70,000.

The iPhone Duo starts in India at Rs 2,99,900. In Thailand, it is priced at 78,999 Thai baht, which is roughly Rs 2,30,000. But you can’t save Rs 70,000 entirely, after all you need to buy flight tickets and book a hotel for your stay. Yet, you may end up saving money. Here is the math for you.

Have a vacation in Bangkok as you buy the iPhone Duo

The iPhone Duo goes on sale globally on October 23. Let’s assume you want to buy the device as soon as it hits the store shelves. This means, you will need to travel to Bangkok on October 23. Since you are travelling overseas, you may want to stay for a couple of days at least. After all, two nights in Bangkok is often a favourite holiday plan for many Indians.

In our example here, we assume that you plan on returning to India on October 25.

On Skyscanner, a website that compares flight prices across booking platforms, we see that we can book a round trip from New Delhi to Bangkok from October 23 to October 25 for as low as Rs 27,000. For easier calculations and fluctuating flight prices, we’ll assume the flight tickets to cost Rs 30,000.

Coming back to the iPhone Duo savings, we still have Rs 40,000 left with us. Now it’s time for us to book a hotel for the two nights we stay in Bangkok. Again, checking online platforms, we see that a decent three to four star hotel in the city may cost around Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. That is, you should be able to get a two-night booking for roughly Rs 10,000. Even after this booking, you would still be saving Rs 30,000 on the iPhone Duo.

However, there are some additional costs, such as travel expenses and food. For the sake of this comparison, let’s assume that you spend about Rs 15,000 in all such expenses in those two days. This means that you buy the iPhone Duo and have a mini-vacation to Thailand, while still saving Rs 15,000 in the process.

Keep in mind that the math we have done here is for the base 256GB model of the iPhone Duo. If you want to buy the higher variants, you can save even more. The top-end 2TB variant will be available in Thailand for 1,27,900 Thai baht, or roughly Rs 3,69,000. Compare this to the Rs 4,49,900 price tag in India, and you save Rs 10,000 extra. Another thing you should note is that flight and hotel prices vary depending on when you book them, which can also change how much money you save.

Interestingly, Thailand is not the only place where you can save money while buying the iPhone Duo. In Dubai, for instance, the iPhone Duo starts at 8,499 Dirham, or about Rs 2,20,000. In Hong Kong, it is even cheaper at 17,499 Hong Kong Dollar, or roughly Rs 2,12,000.

It is unlikely you will go through the hassle of visa and travel, and associated expenses just to buy the iPhone Duo. But as we said, if you choose to do so, the math might favour you.

- Ends