Price comparison: That’s why the iPhone 14 in Switzerland is the cheapest in Europe

• Switzerland is considered a high-price country – but the iPhone 14 is nowhere cheaper in Europe.

• Experts say this is not only due to the strong Swiss franc.

• The lower taxes are also a reason for the relatively cheap iPhones.

That iPhone 14 is available in Switzerland since Friday. The most expensive model of the Apple smartphone is the Pro Max with a terabyte of memory. It costs around 1900 francs in this country. A lot of money for a mobile phone – but nowhere else in Europe is the new iPhone cheaper than in Switzerland.

This is shown by figures from the comparison portal Hellosafe, which compared the prices for the iPhone 14 with 256 gigabytes of memory: It costs the equivalent of 1754 francs in Turkey, 1258 francs in Norway, 1244 francs in Hungary and 1226 francs in Sweden. In Switzerland, the model is available for CHF 1,049.

Why are the new iPhones in the high-price country Switzerland the cheapest compared to other countries in Europe? Two experts give the reasons in an interview with the editors.

According to Apple expert Röbi Weiss, electronic and IT products are almost always cheaper in Switzerland than in the rest of Europe. This is not only due to the strong franc. Because Switzerland is considered a test country: companies often experiment with prices and then adapt their strategy for Europe. In addition, Switzerland has the highest density of Apple devices in the world: the business is lucrative even with somewhat lower prices.

René Schneider from Apple partner DQ Solutions also confirms that consumer electronics are usually cheaper in Switzerland than in other European countries. In contrast to typical consumer goods such as drinks, newspapers or detergents, which are often significantly more expensive in Germany than in the EU.

This also has to do with the fact that the competition in Switzerland is tougher than in Germany and Austria, for example. Big chains like Saturn and Media Markt dominated the business. A good example of this is the TV market: TV are almost always cheaper in Switzerland than in the rest of Europe.

Schneider sees several reasons for the relatively low price of iPhones in Switzerland. Based on the US prices, he notes that Apple is probably orienting itself towards the dollar. Switzerland is currently benefiting from this, since the dollar-franc exchange rate has developed more favorably than the dollar-euro exchange rate since the last iPhone launch.

That’s why the prices for electronics change several times a day

“Many manufacturers convert the euro prices with the current exchange rate, but then add a surcharge in Switzerland,” says Schneider. That probably has something to do with the fact that customers in this country have a high willingness to pay. Apple, on the other hand, seems to be doing without a Switzerland surcharge.

According to Schneider, the lower VAT is another reason for the relatively cheap iPhones in Switzerland: In Switzerland it is 7.7 percent, in the euro area it is usually around 20 percent.

When it comes to prices, one also has to consider that an iPhone today replaces many devices that were previously used individually, says Schneider: such as a camera, MP3 player and GPS receiver. The first iPod generation cost around 500 to 700 francs in 2001 – now this function is integrated into the iPhone.

Incidentally, according to the Apple expert, customers in Switzerland often buy the top model: Even with the iPhone 14, the most pre-orders were received for the Pro and Pro Max, according to Schneider.

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