[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] Japanese consumers are increasingly voicing concerns about the price burden of Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, and the iPhone 18 series.

On Sept. 10 (local time), Japanese ITmedia reported that in Japan the iPhone 18 Pro starts at 219,800 yen (about 1.91 million won) and the iPhone Duo starts at 364,800 yen (about 3.17 million won).

The product drawing the most attention is Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo. Apple set the 256GB iPhone Duo at 364,800 yen, the 512GB at 399,800 yen (about 3.48 million won), the 1TB at 469,800 yen (about 4.09 million won) and the 2TB at 574,800 yen (about 5.00 million won).

Reactions among Japanese consumers were mixed after the prices were disclosed. On social media platform X, formerly Twitter, users posted reactions such as “The iPhone 18 series is too expensive to buy” and “It is too much for the Duo to exceed 360,000 yen.” Some users also said the iPhone Duo costs more than a household refrigerator or the MacBook they currently use.

The price controversy was not limited to the foldable model. The iPhone 18 Pro, the cheapest new model, also rose sharply from its predecessor, priced at 219,800 yen for 256GB. The iPhone 17 Pro was priced at 179,800 yen (about 1.56 million won) at launch, a difference of 40,000 yen (about 340,000 won) compared with the new model.

Given that the iPhone 17 Pro price was raised to 194,800 yen (about 1.69 million won) in July, the price gap felt by consumers is even larger. That is because the new product price rose further after the existing model price had already increased.

Consumer dissatisfaction also grew after the older iPhone 17 price did not fall after the new product launch and instead rose. The iPhone 17 256GB model was 129,800 yen (about 1.13 million won) at launch, but it was raised to 142,800 yen (about 1.24 million won) in July and then raised again this time to 159,800 yen (about 1.39 million won).

Normally, when a new product is launched, prices for the previous generation often fall, but the opposite has occurred in Japan. On X, there were also reactions such as, “I was going to buy the iPhone 17 after its price fell following the new product announcement, but the price went up instead.”

Complaints were also raised over exchange rates. While the dollar-yen rate moved in the 153-yen range in the Tokyo foreign exchange market on Sept. 9, some pointed out that comparing Japan and U.S. selling prices on a pre-tax basis suggests the exchange rate applied to Japan prices is about 165 to 168 yen per dollar.

Some consumers argued that even though the yen has recently strengthened, Japan selling prices did not reflect it sufficiently. On social media, complaints continued such as, “The yen is strong, but the price from when it was weak was applied.”

Another factor cited as adding to the burden is that there are fewer low-priced models Japanese consumers can choose from. They say the entry price for consumers looking to buy a new model rose because a relatively cheaper standard model was not included in this announcement.

Ultimately, the iPhone 18 series price controversy in Japan appears to be expanding beyond the foldable smartphone’s high price into dissatisfaction with Apple’s regional pricing policy. In particular, Japanese consumers’ price sensitivity is rising further as the iPhone Duo, which had drawn expectations as the first foldable iPhone, launched at a price above 360,000 yen and prices for existing models have also increased.