LAHORE MIRROR — Apple, the American smartphone maker, unveiled its latest and most advanced iPhones on September 9, which are being praised for their cameras and features.
iPhones have always been expensive, with prices ranging in Pakistan from around PKR 400,000 to PKR 650,000 — and this time, too, the new models come with sky-high price tags.
This year, the company introduced the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, and iPhone 17 Max Pro, each available in two memory variants.
According to Apple’s official announcement, the entry-level iPhone 17 will be priced at USD 799, which translates to around PKR 227,000 in Pakistan — not including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) tax.
The top-end model, the iPhone 17 Max, will start at PKR 340,000, with higher-memory versions costing even more. PTA tax will be added separately.
In Pakistan, the retail price of any iPhone 17 is unlikely to be less than PKR 390,000 to PKR 410,000, while the most premium model is expected to cost between PKR 590,000 and PKR 620,000.
The PTA charges a tax of PKR 130,000 to PKR 185,000 on iPhone registration. With this tax included, even the cheapest iPhone 17 will cost around PKR 390,000, while the most expensive will go up to PKR 620,000.
The prices are so high that they surpass the annual earnings of thousands of Pakistanis. On average, contract-based employees in Pakistan earn barely PKR 40,000 a month.
That amounts to an annual income of PKR 480,000 — less than the cost of Apple’s most expensive iPhone, which exceeds PKR 600,000.
