Popular tech YouTuber Ranjit Kumar, known online as GeekyRanjit, has hit out at Apple’s India pricing for the newly launched iPhone Duo, calling it ‘disgusting’ and warning that it could push buyers towards the grey market. Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, on September 9, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. In India, the device starts at Rs. 2,99,900 for the base 256GB variant, climbing to Rs. 3,24,900 for 512GB, Rs. 3,74,900 for 1TB, and Rs. 4,49,900 for the top-end 2TB model. Globally, the phone starts at around $1,999 in the US. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Kumar argued that the Indian price tag doesn’t add up even after accounting for taxes. He said that converting the roughly $2,000 US starting price and layering on GST at 18 percent should have placed the Duo somewhere between Rs. 2,35,000 and Rs. 2,40,000 – well short of the near Rs. 3 lakh figure Apple has actually charged. He called the gap ‘ridiculous’ and said he didn’t understand Apple’s reasoning behind it.
The YouTuber contrasted this with Samsung’s approach to its foldables. He pointed to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, which he said carries a similar $2,100 price in the US but is available in India for around Rs. 2 lakh, and the standard Z Fold 8, priced at about $1,800 internationally but roughly Rs. 1,80,000 in India – a far smaller premium than what Apple has applied to a device he described as comparable in size and form factor to the Duo. Kumar cautioned that pricing the iPhone Duo so far above its international sticker could fuel unauthorised imports and grey-market sales, and urged prospective buyers not to rush into a purchase. He also flagged the risk of the phone overheating in Indian conditions, drawing on his own experience with the iPhone Air, which he used for about nine months and said ran hot despite being otherwise well built.
He further pointed to Apple’s decision to raise prices on last year’s iPhone 17, which he said had jumped from Rs 80,000 to around Rs 1 lakh. Separate reports have confirmed the increase: Apple revised prices across its iPhone 16, iPhone 17e, iPhone 17 and iPhone Air lineup after the September 9 launch event, with the iPhone 17’s base 256GB variant rising from Rs. 82,900 to Rs. 99,900, and the iPhone Air’s starting price going up to Rs. 1,49,900 from Rs. 1,19,900. Industry analysts have linked the hikes to a global memory chip shortage, a weaker rupee and higher import and manufacturing costs. Kumar said the trend marks a broader shift in the Indian premium smartphone market, recalling that the iPhone X was the first smartphone globally to cross the $1,000 mark and that flagship pricing in India has climbed steadily since. He said Apple’s aggressive foldable pricing could embolden rivals like Samsung to raise their own prices in future, calling it a ‘lose-lose’ scenario for Indian consumers. He added that the development had also made him reconsider his earlier criticism of Samsung’s Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra pricing, saying it now looks fair by comparison. The iPhone Duo will be available for pre-order in India from October 16, with sales beginning October 23.
