Buy iPhone from Japan

hello

I'm going to japan and was thinking of getting an iPhone from there from the apple shop.
Does anyone know if there are any issues with using it in Australia, besides having a Japanese plug point?

Comments

  • you get 1 year apple warranty as opposed to getting one here which gives you 2.

    • Also, if Apple really wanted to, they can advise you to return it to the country of purchase when trying to claim warranty… but they never do

      • +1

        Can say they do… we got a phone in Japan, it failed… luckily we were going back to Japan so were able to get it resolved in Japan a few weeks later.
        iPhone warranty is not worldwide, its local only and its enforced a lot more lately

  • +8

    One minor point which may be annoying. In Japan, it is the law that all phone cameras make a sound when taking photos i.e even if you prefer your phone to be on silent mode all the time, when you take a photo it will make some sort of sound.

    This is to prevent perverts taking silent photos of people they shouldn't be doing without the other person being made aware.

    • +2

      True story. I once bought a brand new iPhone 8 on Ebay and it turned out to be a Japanese one. You cannot turn off the camera sound even in silent mode. Very annoying. Had to return it.

      • Most cameras make a clicking sound though. I think it’s annoyingly for candid shots only

        • Not if your iPhone is on mute, then it doesn't make a sound. Japanese phones must always make a sound even on mute though.

          OP: Not recommended. Buy it here with discount codes and claim TRS back instead to get it cheaper buy maintain warranty.

    • You can, acutely. Juts turn on the live photo, then there will be no sound.

      • Live photos take much more spaces than normal photos. Yes there are walk-arounds but at a cost.

  • +2

    If you're buying it there just to avoid sales tax, you can always buy one in Australia and claim the GST back on TRS when you're at the airport.
    As far as I'm aware, the price before tax is similar in Aus and Japan, so you get all the upside with no real downside.

    I did this with a $2k iPhone 11 Pro - declared it as over the $900 passenger concession upon returning to Melbourne, just said I'd bought a phone, and was waved through. Would recommend.

  • -1

    It'll be more expensive in Japan. Not a good exchange rate at the moment.
    I was recently in Shenzhen, and the second hand iphone market was the best prices I've seen.

  • Dear all

    Thank-you for the wonderful feedback.
    As long as I am prepared to endure the click with the camera I guess it should be ok.
    As far as warranty, I haven't had any problems with apple products before. Not saying it can't happen, just I think their quality control is excellent.
    This website seems to suggest even with TRS removed it would be cheaper in Japan. Then remove the VAT for Japan (8%) and the price should be the cheapest in the world.
    https://iphone-worldwide.com/

    happy xmas/holdiays

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