Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, is now on pre-order in South Africa at R47,999 for the 256GB model, rising to R76,999 for 2TB, according to iStore. That makes it the most expensive iPhone iStore sells, R17,000 more than a 2TB iPhone 18 Pro Max. The 512GB model costs R52,999 and the 1TB R62,499, with shipping quoted in one to two weeks.

In the United States, the Duo costs $1,999 to $3,199 before sales tax. Here is how US prices compare once converted at about R16.46 to the dollar, the rate TechCentral used, with South Africa's 15% VAT added.

So a South African pays about R10,160 more for the base Duo than the US price plus VAT would suggest. Part of that gap is tax that VAT alone does not capture.

Smartphones carry no customs duty, but SARS charges a 9% ad valorem excise duty, a luxury tax, on smartphones valued above R2,500, and it calculates import VAT on the value plus a 10% uplift and the excise. Applied to the US price of the base Duo, roughly R32,900, those taxes take it to about R41,700, which is R3,900 more than simple VAT.

The remaining R6,300 or so covers shipping, the margins of Apple's local distribution and the retailer, and a buffer against the rand weakening. Apple does not sell directly in South Africa, so phones come through authorised resellers such as iStore.

One caution on the comparison: US prices exclude sales tax, which varies by state, so the gap with what Americans pay at the till is smaller than the table shows.

TechCentral's Duncan McLeod worked out the 27% premium and noted that the Duo's premium is more than double HomeView's and Apple TV's, and that the local price came in below his September estimate of more than R50,000 for the base model. Apple's US store lists the US prices. JLog sets out the tax rules for imported smartphones, including the 9% excise above R2,500, which Treasury removed for cheaper phones in April 2025 to make low-end smartphones more affordable.

The useful takeaway is that the rand price of an iPhone is not just the dollar price times the exchange rate. VAT adds 15%, the luxury excise adds more on phones, and every company between Apple and your hands adds its margin and protects itself against currency swings. That explains why phones show a bigger premium than speakers and TV boxes, though not all of it: the HomePod mini 2 still carries a 24% premium.

For buyers, the practical options are the ones local retailers are already pushing, such as trade-ins and pre-owned iPhones, or spreading the cost, which is why contract prices have been rising faster than the phones themselves. Importing one yourself rarely saves much once the excise, VAT and courier clearance fees are added, and you lose the local warranty.

You might also like our piece on DNI's R500-million bet on phone financing, Apple's Beats-branded game controllers, and what the Big Mac Index says about the rand.

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