Australians are set to pay upwards of 10 per cent more than Americans for Apple's new iPhones, in what consumer advocacy group CHOICE has labelled a case of "price discrimination".
Apple unveiled two new versions of its iPhone 5 overnight - an upgraded model called the 5S, and a plastic-shelled budget model called the 5C.
Both will be available in Australia and the US from September 20.
But based on the present 93 cent exchange rate, Australians buying the phone outright will pay between 12 and 14 per cent more than Americans, before GST.
Australians will pay $A81 more for the 16MB iPhone 5C and about $A114 more for the 64MB iPhone 5S. For three other planned models, Australians will pay between $92 and $103 more.
Assuming currency parity, the price difference would range between $122 and $141 depending on the model.
Consumer group CHOICE accused Apple of "price discrimination", citing in-house research that it said showed Apple's hardware should not cost more across borders.
"There is no obvious reason for a price difference like this," said the group's head of campaigns, Matt Levey.
"We can only conclude Apple is charging Aussies more for the new phones because they think they can get away with it."
The discrepancy is consistent with recent findings from a government inquiry into technology pricing in Australia.
The 12-month inquiry reported in July that Australians are frequently charged more than others in comparable countries for identical tech products.
In many cases, the price differences "cannot be explained by the cost of doing business in Australia", it reported.
Apple's Australian boss Tony King told the inquiry in March that he did not believe Apple products cost materially more in Australia than in the US, taking into account daily exchange rate movements.
He added that Apple also had to consider differences between countries in freight charges, import duties and advertising laws.
Apple did not immediately respond to questions.
