The Apple iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have already been officially priced at $999 (~RM4203), $699 (~RM2941) and $799 (~RM3361). However, pricing in Malaysia isn't always a direct conversion of currency from the US pricing, so our resident analyst will show you how the numbers add up and result in a Malaysia price prediction that may actually be much higher than earlier expectations.
#Method 1: Prediction based on direct currency conversion
The US and Singapore both have their official iPhone pricing listed and both are countries that have a lot of influence on Malaysia, as such the first method explores Malaysia's Apple iPhone price based on direct currency conversion from both countries.
| Comparison of Malaysia, US and Singapore Apple iPhone Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | US RRP | USD to MYR | MY RRP | SGD to MYR | SG RRP |
| Apple iPhone 6s 16GB | 650 | 2856 | 3199 | 3234 | 1048 |
| Apple iPhone 7 32GB | 649 | 2635 | 3199 | 3154 | 1048 |
| Apple iPhone 7 Plus 32GB | 769 | 3122 | 3799 | 3756 | 1248 |
| Apple iPhone 8 64GB | 699 | 2942 | 3599? | 3586 | 1148 |
| Apple iPhone 8 Plus 64GB | 799 | 3362 | 4099? | 4087 | 1308 |
| Apple iPhone X 64GB | 999 | 4204 | 5099? | 5150 | 1648 |
The currency conversion rate above is based on the currency conversion rate of the official launch date for each particular Apple iPhone. We can see that Malaysia's official iPhone price is closer to the converted price from Singapore's iPhone price. As the currency conversion from Singapore Dollars to Malaysian Ringgit on 12 Sep 2017 (the iPhone X launch date) is 3.125, we calculated that the converted iPhone X 64Gb Malaysia price will be RM5150. Following the pricing pattern of Malaysia's previous iPhone prices, the iPhone X may therefore cost RM5099 or RM5199.
#Method 2: Prediction based on conversion ratio of current US iPhone prices to Malaysia's iPhone prices
This is the more simple (and more accurate, we feel) method. First of all, we need to get the conversion ratio from the US price to the Malaysian price using Malaysia's RRP (Recommended Retail Price) divided by the US RRP. Here, we will take the iPhone 7 Plus 32GB as the base reference.
RM3349 / USD669 = 5.006 (Conversion Ratio)
This results in the conversion ratio being 5.006. Applying this to all the Apple iPhone prices results in the following:
| Model | US RRP | Conversion Ratio | Converted Price | Malaysia RRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone 6s 32GB | 449 | 5.006 | 2248 | 2249 |
| Apple iPhone 6s 128GB | 549 | 5.006 | 2748 | 2749 |
| Apple iPhone 6s Plus 32GB | 549 | 5.006 | 2748 | 2749 |
| Apple iPhone 6s Plus 128GB | 649 | 5.006 | 3249 | 3249 |
| Apple iPhone SE 32 GB | 349 | 5.006 | 1747 | 1749 |
| Apple iPhone SE 128 GB | 449 | 5.006 | 2248 | 2249 |
| Apple iPhone 7 32 GB | 549 | 5.006 | 2748 | 2749 |
| Apple iPhone 7 128GB | 649 | 5.006 | 3249 | 3249 |
| Apple iPhone 7 Plus 32GB | 669 | 5.006 | 3349 | 3349 |
| Apple iPhone 7 Plus 128GB | 769 | 5.006 | 3850 | 3849 |
The table above clearly shows that the final converted price from US Dollars to Malaysian Ringgit based on the conversion ratio is very close to Malaysia's official price for all currently available iPhone models. The biggest difference is only RM2, so we think this is the most accurate method to predict the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus price in Malaysia. Without further ado, let us check out the final predicted iPhone X price below.
Final Prediction of iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Price in Malaysia
| Model | US Price | Predicted Malaysia Price |
|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone 8 64GB | 699 | 3499 |
| Apple iPhone 8 256GB | 849 | 4249 |
| Apple iPhone 8 Plus 64GB | 799 | 3999 |
| Apple iPhone 8 Plus 256GB | 949 | 4749 |
| Apple iPhone X 64GB | 999 | 4999 |
| iPhone X 256GB | 1149 | 5749 |
In the end, our predicted iPhone X price comes up to RM4999 in Malaysia. Of course, this is just a prediction based on the numbers and analysis of previous iPhone prices. It is not official and we'd love to be wrong and get lower prices here in Malaysia.
With the predicted prices above, which would you choose, the iPhone X or iPhone 8? Or, will you go for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8? Perhaps you want to wait for the upcoming Huawei Mate 10 (which is rumoured to be below RM3K) instead? Let us know how you think in our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for the latest in tech news, reviews and analysis.
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