Here’s How Long You’ll Need to Work to Buy an iPhone in Various Countries

We all know the iPhone is an expensive device. If you want to have Apple’s latest and greatest, you’re going to need to lay out almost a thousand dollars.

While most of us only consider money, there’s another currency that some people consider to be more important: time.

After all, most of us earn money based on the hours we work, so you’re really paying for your iPhone with both your time and your money.

But how much time is it, exactly? Well, it really depends on the country you live in, but MoneySuperMarket has shown us a pretty accurate chart of how long you’ll need to work if you want to get the iPhone 15. 

How Long You’ll Need to Work to Buy the New iPhone 15

The price of the iPhone varies depending on the country you’re in. In some places, the iPhone 15 costs the equivalent of almost $2,000 USD. Combine that with the average wage in that country, and it can take you quite a long time to be able to afford an iPhone.

Here are the working hours needed to buy the iPhone 15 based on the average wage in each country, according to MoneySuperMarket.

• Turkey – 818 hours (~102 workdays).
• Philippines – 746 hours (~93 workdays).
• Brazil – 689 hours (~86 workdays).
• India – 629 hours (~79 workdays).
• Vietnam – 618 hours (~77 workdays).
• Mexico – 438 hours (~55 workdays).
• Thailand – 346 hours (~43 workdays).
• Hungary – 255 hours (~32 workdays).
• Poland – 248 hours (~31 workdays).
• Malaysia – 245 hours (~31 workdays).
• China – 196 hours (~24.5 workdays).
• Portugal – 185 hours (~23 workdays).
• Czechia – 133 hours (~17 workdays).
• Spain – 125 hours (~16 work days).
• Italy – 115 hours (~14 workdays).
• France – 86 hours (~11 workdays).
• Korea – 84 hours (~10.5 workdays).
• Belgium – 82 hours (~10 workdays).
• United Kingdom – 81 hours (~10 workdays).
• Austria – 77 hours (~10 workdays).
• Finland – 74 hours (~9 workdays).
• New Zealand – 74 hours (~9 workdays).
• Germany – 73 hours (~9 workdays).
• United Arab Emirates – 72 hours (~9 workdays).
• Sweden – 71 hours (~9 workdays).
• Canada – 71 hours (~9 workdays).
• Netherlands – 69 hours (~9 workdays).
• Ireland – 67 hours (~8 workdays).
• Japan – 66 hours (~8 workdays).
• Denmark – 61 hours (~8 workdays).
• Hong Kong – 61 hours (~8 workdays).
• Norway – 57 hours (~7 workdays).
• Australia – 57 hours (~7 workdays).
• Singapore – 53 hours (~7 workdays).
• United States – 52 hours (~6.5 workdays).
• Luxembourg – 38 hours (~5 workdays).
• Switzerland – 34 hours (~4 workdays).

So there you have it. I’m sorry if you’re in Turkey or the Philippines; you’re going to have to work for around 20 weeks just to afford the iPhone. 

To add some perspective in raw dollars based on current exchange rates, the iPhone 15 starts at 49,999 Turkish lira (TRY) in Turkey, which is equivalent to about $1,750 US dollars, while in the Philippines, the base model sells for 70,990 Philippine pesos (PHP) which works out to around $1,275 USD.

On the other hand, if you’re in Switzerland, it would take you about four days of work to afford the iPhone 15, which is not surprising, considering the average Swiss worker receives an annual salary of 79,980 Swiss francs (CHF), which works out to approximately $90,000 in US dollars. In that country, the iPhone 15 starts at 849 Swiss francs — about $950 USD.

How Long Do You Need to Work in the US to Buy the iPhone 15?

As you can see in the list above, it won’t take you that long to save up for an iPhone 15, as long as you don’t spend money on anything else. 

On average, you would only need to work 52 hours — a bit more than a typical work week — to be able to purchase the iPhone 15, which isn’t that bad. It definitely isn’t as bad as in the UK, where you would need to work a full two weeks to be able to afford it.

Let’s Get Back to Work

If you’re looking forward to getting the iPhone 15, then we should all get back to work. 

Most of us have other things to pay for, so chances are we’ll need to work a little more than just a week or two before we can actually afford the new iPhone.