With each passing week and month prices of mobile phones keep climbing in Iran and many other countries. The outrageous prices have forced many to consider getting an insurance policy for their cellphones.
High-end handsets from Apple and Samsung cost over and above $1,000 in global markets. With the value of the rial, long stuck on the downward trajectory and hampering imports, cellphone prices in Iran are much higher.
Due to the rising prices, many are taking out insurance on their smartphones. Local firms offer insurance services for cellphones with an aggregate limit of 60 million rials ($370). An insurance plan for this amount costs between five to 10 million rials ($30 to $61) and covers some repairs, ICTNA reported.
The latest Apple flagship iPhone Xs Max costs more than 350 million rials ($2,154) in Iran while Samsung’s Galaxy S9 Plus is sold at 190 million rials ($1,169). The same gadgets can be bought for $1,099 and $790 in international markets respectively.
However, the problem is not limited to price gouging and the insatiable greed of middlemen that have effectively put high-end handsets out of the reach of average Iranians.
Head of the Specialized Mobile Phone Guild, an association of sellers and repair-shop owners, Mohammad Mehdi Ghaforian says, “Prices of mobile phone spare parts have gone through the roof. The recent hike in spare part prices is so outrageous that if something goes wrong with your handset or it needs a new LCD display, repairs will cost you as much as purchasing a new phone.”
With supply bottlenecks expanding, the market for smartphones and spare parts is in a state of chaos, he said.
Since US president Donald Trump pulled out of Iran’s historic nuclear deal and imposed sanctions against Tehran, the value of the national currency has plunged to unprecedented lows making imports a gargantuan task.
In an attempt to ease the hot mobile phone market, the government allocated subsidized hard currencies to a group of importers to bring in 600,000 mobile phones. The plan flopped as many importers are being prosecuted for misconduct, embezzlement, hoarding and defrauding the government.
Ghaforian says “The promised 600,000 mobile phones have yet not arrived and even if they are imported it would only satisfy the market demand for 15 days and after that we will be back to the first square.”
He says talks have been held between the guild and the ICT Ministry but to no avail.
In addition to hitting consumers hard, the high prices of spare parts threaten hundreds of jobs because when people cannot afford the services many repair shops will be forced to pack and leave.
>Smart Solution
Considering the irrational prices of flagship handsets, registering for insurance services for cellphones is gaining increasing traction in many countries.
People often drop and break their smartphones, but a German engineering student Philip Frenzel may have the solution to save everyone some time, money and unwanted stress.
Spotted by DesignBoom, Frenzel has created the mobile airbag, a case that senses when your phone is in free fall and releases metal prongs to protect it from damage.
A student at Aalen University in Germany, Frenzel won an award from the German Mechatronics Society with the mobile airbag and expects to launch the device on Kickstarter soon for crowdfunding.
If this product—or something similar with an improved design—makes it to market, there is no doubt it could help save people money they would otherwise end up spending on phone repairs or new devices. The era of cracked screens may be coming to an end sooner than we think.
