morning all
My sons just arrived in Florida with his mum and family
2 weeks doing all the parks and stuff.
He wants to buy a new iPhone out there.
1 is this a good idea ? Are they cheaper ?
2 will it work fine in the uk ?
Cheers
Hi
It will definitely work if he buys direct from Apple as it will be sold unlocked.
I think you only get a charging cable these days so that will be fine over here too.
As for if it’s cheaper - in the past I’ve looked at the Apple US site and then the UK one to work it out.
Used to cheaper but not sure now.
One thing to note and check - just check if the warranty is worldwide or US only.
Be a bit careful as the frequency bands supported by phones from different regions vary - see the Apple list here. It's complicated & you'd need to compare the bands for the US model with those for the UK model. It looks like the US phone covers the UK bands but it would be an expensive mistake to make:
https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/
Then of course there's the VAT to pay when he declares it to customs when returing to the UK...
If it develops an issue then you may struggle with the warranty being honoured by Apple in the UK. I don't know if you can push against that or how much is down to shop staff being given a script that's actually not correct, but it's worth checking before buying.
You will have to send the phone back from the U.K. to the US for any warranty repairs (if needed).
Your product will not be warranted in the UK, but will be in the US.
Don’t bother and buy Apple in the US unless the prices are significantly different, and this outweighs any warranty risks.
Buy most of the families apple stuff in the US. Last was an iPad Pro for the daughter and iPhone for the wife. Big savings to be made.
iPhone 14 in the US $799, current exchange rate makes that around £640, £849 in the UK. Throw in any fees and you should still get it far cheaper.
Cable it comes with is the USB-C cable if I remember correct.
Thanks all. I’ll let my lad know
I have bought many iPads from the US and saved a good chunk of cash each time.Originally Posted by Speedyexplorer
As I said as long as you balance the savings against the risk of Apple showing you the middle finger if anything goes wrong in the U.K. with a US product, then that is a good way to approach it. I was looking for at least 20% saving to make the risk worthwhile.
When Walmart owned Asda it was risk free. If you bought something in Walmart in the US and took it back to Asda in the U.K. they would honour the warranty. So, back in the day I used to buy all my Apple devices from Walmart.
Since Walmart no longer own Asda, this no longer works.
iPhone is only Apple product I'd be worried about - (1) the frequency bands [which may or not be an issue] and (2) the iPhone 14 in the USA is e-SIM only and the UK/EU versions still accept physical SIM card.
Whether (2) will change for the iPhone 15 or 16 is currently speculation only. You'll find out in 2-3 weeks time though.
I have previously purchased 2 iPhones in the US, from Apple Stores, and had no issues whatsoever. The frequency bands and protocols (GSM and CDMA) are no longer an issue and prior to 4G were all covered in the iPhone sold in the US. They were cheaper when i purchased them but I haven't checked recently.
If iPhones bought here work in the US I’d have thought they’d work the other way too?
Not true, IME.
Furthermore, this from Apple Warranty:RYou may seek service in a country that is not the country of purchase, in such a case you will comply with all applicable import and export laws and regulations and be responsible for all custom duties, V.A.T. and other associated taxes and charges.
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
I work all over and my iPhone has never not worked
Just watch if buying anything with a keyboard as it will most likely be American layout not British qwerty.
As my Brother in Law found out a few years back, much to his annoyance. A pain to begin with and a bigger pain when it came to getting rid!
Would it be worth taking out Apple Care? Or is that country specific too?
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
My daughter had a warranty claim on her US purchased iPhone 13 while in Singapore earlier this year. She had a new US spec iPhone 13 within 24 hours.
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Apple care is worldwide as I took it out when I got my daughters iPad Pro.
I bought an iPad 2 back in the day in Florida from Beat Buy. There was a problem with the screen so I took it to the Apple Store at the Trafford Centre. They replaced the iPad with no questions.
Have bought my kids phones, AirPods and recently myself an M2 Air with a substantial £300-odd saving. Yes I have to press shift and the 3 key to get a £ sign and use a US adaptor to charge :)
If you know in advance when you're going you can get a custom order MacBook with a British English keyboard in America.
I have a colleague that bought his MBP from a humongous AppleStore in NYC, they actually had a U.K. English KB model in stock as this is a common request ( it had more RAM and Storage than basic though).
Yep, retail stock 3-4 SKUs of any model which is usually the two default options online and then an ultimate with everything ticked which is probably what your colleague bought.I have a colleague that bought his MBP from a humongous AppleStore in NYC, they actually had a U.K. English KB model in stock as this is a common request ( it had more RAM and Storage than basic though
Always best to try and get a friend to order you a configure to order model and collect from store. I think it’s possible to do this yourself in store but you’d need to be there long enough to order it from china and it arrive.
Add in the duty and VAT you will obviously pay when you import to the UK and it’s really not worth it.
I've bought iphones and ipads in the US in the past without issue. Savings are model dependent. When you're calculating, don't forget that they have state sales taxes that don't show up on the website. Florida is pretty low - 6% if I remember right. Also factor in any foreign currency fees if paying with a regular UK credit card.
Biggest factor is sales tax, I have picked up ipads/iphones in Taiwan for family back home as sales tax here is 5% compared with VAT at 20%. That 15% alone makes it worth it.
Worth looking at a Totum card professional if you qualify.. they have some apple deals..
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On the warranty aspect my experience has been that the warranty is international. I was traveling in New York with a work issued Norwegian IPhone when a battery warning popped up telling me to get the battery replaced on a 9 month old phone. I wasn’t far from the 5th Av Apple Store so dropped in. They booked it in for later that day and did it while I waited free of charge at the store.
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