How many weeks of work does it take to buy an iPhone in India?

iPhone

If you’ve ever stared at the price tag of a brand-new iPhone and felt your heart skip a beat, you’re not alone. For many in India, owning the latest iPhone 17 isn’t just a splurge, it’s a months-long commitment.

According to a recent Statista report based on International Labour Organisation data, the average hourly wage in India ranges from $1 to $1.60. That might sound decent at first, but here’s the reality check: to buy the base model of the iPhone 17, an average Indian worker would need to work somewhere between 625 and 1,000 hours. That’s roughly 16 to 25 weeks of full-time work without spending a rupee on rent, groceries, or anything else.

However, the story is very different in countries with higher wages. In the United States, the same iPhone costs around $857 after tax, and an average worker only needs about 21 hours of work to afford it. Even in European nations where living costs are high, like Portugal or Hungary, the hours required to buy an iPhone are still far fewer than in India.

Looking at other countries with lower wages, the picture is similar to India. In Vietnam, you’d need to work nearly 600 hours, in Turkey 461, and in Brazil around 409 hours. While local manufacturing and reduced import duties have slightly lowered iPhone prices in India over the years, the reality remains: the device is a luxury for most people.

This gap highlights a broader question: what does “affordable” really mean in different parts of the world? For Apple, new features like upgraded cameras, better durability, and slick design are selling points—but for many Indians, the real challenge is simply making the numbers add up.

So the next time you see someone flaunting the newest iPhone, it’s worth remembering the effort it may have taken behind the scenes. In India, buying the iPhone 17 isn’t just about saving up—it’s about dedicating months of hard work to a tiny piece of technology that has become a status symbol. It’s a reminder of how luxury and accessibility often live in completely different worlds, depending on where you are.