Prices Surge by 7 to 43 Million Tomans in Mobile Phone Market / What Is the Cheapest Phone Now Priced At?

A review of price trends for budget and mid-range phones over the past one to one and a half years shows that the prices of some models have risen several-fold.

The prices of budget and mid-range phones have increased significantly in the last one to one and a half years. Galaxy A 06 has become more expensive by about 36 million tomans and Galaxy A 56 by nearly 94 million tomans

At the beginning of last year, you could buy an affordable and functional phone for 7 million tomans. About six months later, the price of the same phone had reached 9 million, and now you have to spend 43 million to buy the Galaxy A06 with 64 GB of memory, which was once one of the cheapest Samsung phones. This means that the same phone has become more expensive by 36 million tomans between the spring of 1404 and the fall of this year.

Galaxy A06 is just one example of this. Some cheap and economical phones have become more than four times more expensive in the last year, and in the mid-range market, the price increase of some models has been more than 90 million tomans compared to the last year and a half. The following analysis of the price trend of 9 versions of budget and mid-range phones from Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor in the last one to one and a half years, shows that if it was possible to buy a phone with a limited budget until just one or two years ago, now this choice is practically denied to the buyer and they expect tens of millions of dollars.

Budget phones are no longer budget

Galaxy A06 is the cheapest Samsung phone. This phone was worth about 7 million to 8 million tomans in the spring of 1404, but now you have to pay 43 million tomans to buy it. This means that the price of this phone has become more expensive by 36 million in the last year and a half, which is more than 5 times.

Galaxy A07 has not been spared from these changes and it has become more expensive from 10 million tomans in the spring of last year, about 35 million and now it is sold at the price of 45 million tomans. An increase of about 339%, which has brought the price of A07 to more than four times the figure of last year.

In the case of Galaxy A16 with 128GB memory, the situation is not much different. The price of this phone has increased from 11 million to 59 million tomans. In this way, the purchase of Galaxy A16 costs 48 million Tomans more in the last year and a half and has increased by 419%.

The Galaxy A17 with 128GB memory had a price of around 18 million Tomans last year, but today you have to pay 70 million Tomans to buy it. That is, it has increased by 52 million in one year and has almost quadrupled. When it entered the market, A17 was placed in the mid-range budget phone group, but now it has reached a price range that is more difficult for many buyers with a limited budget.

Honor Play10, which is included in the basic and economic phone group, can be purchased these days by paying 35 million Tomans. The price of the 3 GB RAM and 64 GB internal memory version of this phone was 7 million in October last year. This means that the current figure has increased by about 27 million tomans. A growth of nearly 366 percent.

Galaxy A17 with 256 GB memory was priced at 25 million Tomans in October last year and today it is sold for 90 million Tomans. The price of this version has increased by 65 million within a year. It means a growth of 261 percent.

Galaxy A26 with 256GB memory was priced around 21 to 23 million Tomans when it entered the market in the spring of 1404, but now you have to spend 95 million Tomans to buy the same phone. It means about 74 million more than last year, which is approximately 317-357%.

Galaxy A36 with 256 GB memory was priced at 26 million Tomans about a year and a half ago. Today, to buy this phone, you have to spend nearly 103 million tomans. The difference between these two prices is 77 million, which shows that the price of A36 has increased by 294% in this period.

In addition, Galaxy A56 with 256 GB memory has the highest price increase among mid-range phones and its price has reached 127 million tomans from 33 million tomans a year and a half ago. This means that the buyer has to spend 94 million tomans more than last spring to get this model. The price of Galaxy A56 has increased by about 285% during this period, which is about four times the previous figure.

In order to better understand this change, it should be considered that the minimum basic monthly salary (not including workers' compensation, housing rights and other benefits) was about 10 million 390 thousand Tomans in 1404 and reached about 16 million 625 thousand Tomans in 1405. That is, in the spring of last year, the purchase of Galaxy A06 cost less than the basic monthly salary of a minimum wage worker. Now, the price of 43 million tomans for this phone is equivalent to about 2.6 months of basic salary, without taking into account living expenses during this period.