Budget iPhones break the bank

iPhones released by Apple as more budget-friendly devices have consistently cost more than a third of the average South African employee’s monthly salary, with the latest costing more than half.

Apple recently announced the launch of the iPhone 16e, which the manufacturer describes as a device “that offers powerful capabilities at a more affordable price.”

It was soon revealed that Apple’s latest addition to the iPhone family would retail for R15,999 in South Africa.

The device’s price tag of $599 in the US is $170 higher than the iPhone SE 2022, which was only $30 more expensive than the iPhone SE 2020.

This is more than half the average South African salary, which, according to Stats SA’s latest quarterly earnings survey (QES), was R28,220 at the end of 2024.

However, Apple’s previous mid-range smartphone, the iPhone SE, never dropped below 39% of the average South African employee’s salary.

It is important to note that the average earnings figure used only considers gross employee compensation. It would be significantly lower if it took the average amount earned by all working-age South Africans.

The first non-flagship smartphone released by Apple was the iPhone SE, the first generation, which was launched in 2016.

Buyers had the option of a model with 16GB of storage for R8,499 or 64GB for R10,499. The average salary then was R18,502, meaning the iPhones cost 46% and 57% of this, respectively.

Apple released the second generation of its iPhone SE device in 2020, when the average salary increased to R21,455, according to Stats SA’s QES report.

The device came in storage sizes of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, costing R9,999, R12,499, and R14,999.

These were the most expensive of the three generations of iPhone SEs released over the six years, both in value and relative to the average salary.

Two years later, Apple launched the final rendition of the iPhone SE, offering the same storage sizes as the second-gen line-up, this time at more affordable prices.

That year, the devices came in at R9,799 (64GB), R10,999 (128GB), and R13,299 (256GB).

The 64GB model decreased by R200 from two years before, making it the most affordable non-flagship device released relative to the average salary of R24,916.

However, the iPhone 16e, only available in 128GB, is R5,000 more expensive than its predecessor model of the same size.

AppleInsider and Macworld have called the pricing of the new device “disappointing.”

Although the iPhone 16e offers some pretty incredible hardware, such as the A18 chip and the latest Apple AI capabilities, it is not the value-oriented device that some had been hoping for.

For just R1,000 more than the iPhone 16e, the Apple faithful can buy the company’s 2023 iPhone 15 base model with some significant additional features.

At the time of publication, Amazon.co.za and Takealot listed the iPhone 15 for less than R17,000.

iStore Pre-Owned also had “Best” quality second-hand models priced at under R16,000, with warranties similar to when the phone is bought new.

For the extra R1,000, users can get a host of features that have not been included in the iPhone 16e, including:

• Ultrawide camera
• Macro photography
• Faster 15W wireless charging
• MagSafe
• Sensor-shift optical image stabilisation
• Cinematic mode
• Sport mode
• Higher maximum brightness
• Dynamic Island instead of a notch
• Ultra wide-band support
• One more GPU core

Below is a table showing the cost of all of the non-flagship devices released by Apple, along with their prices relative to the average South African salary of the year they were released in.