The iPad UK price is still a mystery, but we’ve whipped out a calculator and our special gadget cost divining rods to work out just what Apple is likely to charge us on this side of the pond. We’ve based our calculations on Apple’s current (and sometimes curious) currency conversions, reflected within the Apple store.
Is this the iPad UK price you’ve been hoping for? Not quite: unless Apple pulls a wild card, you can expect something of an iPad UK price levy when it lands at the end of the month.
To work out what Apple may charge, we’ve compared the prices of the base models of Apple’s current gadgets on sale within Apple’s US online store with those on the UK store today. By using today’s exchange rates and removing VAT from UK prices (Apple’s US prices don’t include the equivalent sales tax, since it varies from state to state), we’ve worked out the potential iPad UK price based on average and modal (most common) percentage difference.
iPad UK price leaked by Play.com?
We haven’t included the iPhone in our calculations, since it’s heavily subsidised by the networks it’s sold on, both here and in the US. Considering the iPad is sold contract-free and completely unlocked, it’s not a fair comparison.
Check out the numbers below for Apple’s entire product range. They make for interesting reading and not just for those eying up the iPad UK price. Sneak a peek at those Mac Mini and Apple TV price differences!
iMac 21.5-inch, 3.06GHz
US Price = $1,199
UK price = £969
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £44 or 5.6%
MacBook Pro 15-inch, 2.53GHz
US Price = $1,699
UK price = £1,328
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £25 or 2%
MacBook Air 1.86GHz
US Price = $1,499
UK price = £1,174
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £24 or 2.4%
MacBook 2.26GHz, 250GB
US Price = $999
UK price = £816
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £44 or 6.7%
Mac Mini 2.26GHz, 160GB
US Price = $599
UK price = £510
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £45 or 11.5%
iPod touch 32GB third gen
US Price = $299
UK price = £234
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £5 or 2.5%
iPod nano 5G 8GB
US Price = $149
UK price = £118
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £3 or 3%
iPod shuffle 2GB
US Price = $59
UK price = £46
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £0.7 or 1.8%
Apple TV 160GB
US Price = $229
UK price = £223
Price increase for UK, before VAT = £40 or 26.8% (This one shocked us too)
To figure out Apple’s likely iPad UK price, we’ve taken the average price increase for the UK across the entire store, which is 6.9% before VAT, resulting in a final iPad UK price for the base 16GB Wi-Fi model of £407. The same model costs $499 in the US in states where gadget fiends pay no sales tax, such as Oregon: that’s £324.65 at current exchange rates or a whopping £82 less.
Of course, that doesn’t mean a great deal since the bizarre Apple TV pricing introduces a huge discrepancy. If we take a modal figure of 2.5 percent, though, the iPad UK price ends up being £390 including VAT, an effective increase of £65 over the US model, but easily falling within netbook territory, and letting Apple tackle the likes of the Eee PC and MSI Wind head on with the iPad.
So there you have it: we expect Apple to charge close to £400 on launch day at the end of April. We await Apple’s official confirmation of the iPad UK price with bated breath, alongside a firm date for availability too.
Out April | £TBC | Apple
