Not surprisingly, yet with a tinge of inevitability, the base price of the iPhone18 Pro has soared to 9,999 yuan, nearly breaching the 10,000 yuan mark, marking a significant 1,000 yuan hike from its predecessor.

Concurrently, the more budget-friendly iPhone18 standard edition is not making its debut this time around and might only see the light of day next spring. This leaves numerous users who had their sights set on the standard version in a bind, as the Pro is prohibitively expensive and the standard version is out of reach. What options do they have?

This prompts a pertinent inquiry: How does the 9,999-yuan iPhone18 Pro stack up in terms of global pricing, and how many days of labor do consumers across the globe need to invest to acquire it?

I've compiled the prices of the iPhone18 Pro in key countries and regions worldwide, converted them into RMB, and then computed the number of workdays required to purchase such a device based on the global average post-tax monthly salaries reported by various institutions.

From a purely monetary standpoint, the 9,999-yuan price tag in mainland China isn't exorbitantly high, as nations like Singapore, Australia, the UK, Germany, France, and India all boast higher price points than mainland China.

Naturally, the U.S. offers the most competitive price at approximately 8,000 yuan, nearly 2,000 yuan less than in China, whereas India tops the chart with a staggering 11,600 yuan, almost 2,000 yuan more expensive than in China.

However, when factoring in the average wage levels in these countries and regions and recalculating the purchasing power, the landscape shifts.

The U.S. enjoys the least financial strain, with its low price and high average wage, translating to an average of merely 5.5 workdays needed to purchase an iPhone18 Pro.

Following closely is Canada at 7.3 workdays, and Hong Kong, China, at a mere 12.6 workdays.

In mainland China, it necessitates 36.4 workdays, given an average wage of 8,240 yuan. I even suspect this average wage might be slightly inflated; should wages be lower, the duration would stretch even longer.

Conversely, India emerges as the most costly when adjusting for purchasing power. With its lofty price and modest income, procuring an iPhone18 Pro demands around 71 workdays.

Naturally, the aforementioned data is grounded in the 2025 average wages reported by institutions. Should you deem the data imprecise and your wage falls short of the average, you might have been 'averaged out' in the statistics.

Remarkably, despite Chinese consumers requiring over a month's labor to afford an iPhone18 Pro, Apple's sales in China remain robust. Many individuals are willing to tighten their belts, or even go to great lengths, to acquire an Apple product. It's truly baffling.