For years Japanese shoppers eagerly shelled out for the latest gadgets, but now a tumbling yen has put new iPhones out of reach for some and sparked a growing secondhand trade in a major market for Apple.
The Japanese currency's fall to a 32-year low against the dollar has squeezed consumers and accelerated a broader spending shift in the world's No.3 economy. Industry watchers say Japan's shoppers have become more open to buying secondhand, thanks in part to the rise of online auction sites.
In July, Apple hiked the price of the entry-level iPhone 13 by nearly a fifth. The basic iPhone 14 later debuted at 20% more than the iPhone 13 did, even as the U.S. price stayed flat at $799. While the dollar has surged against global currencies this year, the yen has been particularly hard hit, dropping 22%.