Cupertino-based tech giant Apple recently released its new flagship line of iPhones - the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR - and as expected the new smartphones come with a hefty new price tag.

At its annual keynote event held in September of every year, Apple unveiled a variety of products including the most expensive smartphone in the company’s history: the iPhone XS Max. Whereas the iPhone XR is the seemingly ‘affordable’ one costing $749 (over Rs. 90,000), the iPhone XS costs a whopping $999 (over Rs. 120,000), and the XS Max – an eye-watering $1,099 (over Rs. 130,000); and these are just the prices for the 64GB version.The higher price tags make it even more difficult for the-average-person to afford.

In order to figure out how many days Pakistanis (as well as citizens from other countries) would have to work to buy the new iPhone XS (64GB variant) the Analysis Department at Picodi.com, carried out a research based on the phone’s prices in different countries, and the official statistical data about average incomes in each of the countries.

The study centered on official prices of the iPhone XS 64GB in 42 countries and the publicly available data regarding average wages in those countries for the year 2017 (or the most recent accessible period).

When it came to the phone’s affordability amongst average Pakistanis, assuming the average net wage is Rs. 30,824 a-month, the research found that the average man/woman would be required to work for 88.6 days to afford the most basic phone in the tech giant’s new line up. This is also assuming, that other living expenditures would be nil.

The research listed Pakistan as the second country after the Philippines where the average man would be required to work the longest.The average Filipino, the research found, would be required to work for more than 156 days to be able to afford the phone.

Third place was taken by Argentina where the average citizen would be required to work for 60.1 days, followed by India where that number stood at 59.9.

Despite the United States being a significant market for Apple, the research found that Europeans and Arabs could afford the phone much more easily as compared to Americans. The research showed that the average citizen in the UAE would have to work for 7.6 days whereas that number stood at 8.4 in the case of the US.

Regardless of the fact that Apple launches its flagship product with such expensive price tags there remain literally millions of people across the world, for whom this must-have item is just that: a Must-Have.