“Back in February, I discussed the possibility of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 topping a $1,000 price in the US,” Bill Maurer writes for Seeking Alpha. “Since we already saw a price raise with the 7 Plus, and this new phone is supposed to be an even higher end device, it seemed logical that a higher end storage model of the 8 could easily price into the four digits. Today, one Apple watcher and developer argued that the 8 could start at nearly $1,200, which I think would be a tremendous mistake for the company as it looks to gain market share.”
“It’s been widely discussed that Apple is moving to an OLED display, although the timing depends on who you ask. It appears that the highest end device to be launched later this year will feature OLED panels, but the supply of this key device part has been questioned. Apple watcher John Gruber recently stated that the company may have trouble making 40 million of these OLED devices a quarter, which will send the smartphone’s price soaring,” Maurer writes. “Here’s part of his piece: ‘If Apple really is facing supply constraints due to new OLED panels and possible troubles with a new fingerprint reader, then he thinks that Apple will start the iPhone 8 at $1,199 with 64GB or storage, or even as much as $1,249. A 256GB model would start at $1,299 or as much as $1,399.'”
“That would certainly provide a level of differentiation that I discussed in my prior Apple article, between the likely new 7s, 7s Plus, and 8,” Maurer writes. “However, I think it would really push a number of consumers away, because even on a 24-month installment plan you’re talking about $50 a month just for the phone, not counting your calling/text/data plan”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The “iPhone 8” (or “iPhone X” or “iPhone Pro”) will be Apple’s flagship, premium, cutting-edge iPhone. It should be priced as such.
Customers who are looking for lower prices can simply opt for iPhone 7s or iPhone 7s Plus or even the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, which are likely to stick around as the entry-level models through late 2018, just as the 6s and 6s Plus are today, or get the iPhone SE, of course.
As we wrote back in February: Our Jet Black 256GB iPhone 7 Plus units with 3 GB RAM each cost $969 plus tax, so $1,000+ for a loaded “iPhone X” with 4+ GB of RAM would certainly not be surprising.
And when did Apple say they were looking to “gain market share” in the smartphone market overall?
(Yes, in places like India they are looking to sell more iPhones, but Apple simply doesn’t worship at the Church of Market Share. They’re in – and winning handily – a totally different race.)
SEE ALSO:
Apple took 83% of smartphone market profits in calendar first quarter – May 16, 2017
Apple’s Tenth Anniversary iPhone will likely cost more than $1,000, source says – February 8, 2017
Goldman: Apple’s next iPhone will break the $1,000 barrier and send the stock soaring – May 12, 2017
I’m ready.
As central as the iPhone is to almost every aspect of my life, even an incremental improvement is worth it to me.
Oh me too! I just couldn’t buy Angela and Jony’s Edition watches fast enough either. /S
Apple needs to do something new and better if it wants to justify increasing prices. I don’t think a Samsung screen or a Samsung chipset or another supposedly more capable bulging camera with compromised optics are game changers offering better value to most users. Actually, many users I know detest the loss of headphone jack last year and are wondering what Apple is going to remove this year. Timid Tim doesn’t inspire much confidence.
So, what does that make Steve?
Killed:
Floppy drive
SCSI port
Parallel port
Serial port
CRT displays
FireWire
Physical phone keyboards
Flash
30-pin connector
SD card slot
Optical drive
But, yeah, “Trim Tim.” 🙄 If you think Jobs wasnt part of killing off the headphone port, you’re as stupid as you come off.
Hey ball boy, the minijack isn’t dead. Apple puts it on all its other products except the iPhone 7.
You come off as a jerk.
“Paul” seems a bit sensitive about my response to “Sarah.”
By raising the prices, they risk losing longtime customers who have bought previous iterations of the iPhone but who can’t absorb a four figure price tag for a phone. The key to maintaining business is building repeat customers, and a sharp price increase runs the risk of hampering that.
Have you considered a remedial reading course to help with your comprehension skills? There will be lower priced alternatives from Apple to their highest priced phone.
It seems the 10 year old Steve Ballmer “$500 phone! You gotta be kidding!” argument is alive and kicking in whinger_land_2017.
iPhone 8 or whatever it’s called will be $1199 for the base model minimum. 10 years and inflation makes that a cert.
Inflation?!? The flagship phone has been $649 for 9 years. This is not inflation. It’s what the market will bear.
Your right, but would you buy the same model twice? Perhaps I’m to hard on my phone, but I’ve barely been able to keep a phone alive for two years. So, yes my wife and I have been on the every other model cycle. If they go that high of a price, they will definitely be losing two customers. Sorry, love Apple products, one of the best things I’ve done was switching to a MacBook Pro back in 2006. But if I’m forced to choose staying with Apple or keeping a house over my family’s head, BYE APPLE!!!!
“By raising the prices, they risk losing longtime customers who have bought previous iterations of the iPhone but who can’t absorb a four figure price tag for a phone. The key to maintaining business is building repeat customers, and a sharp price increase runs the risk of hampering that.”
Bullcrap. On a two year contract (the way the majority purchase their iPhone) a $1200 iPhone increases the monthly payment by less than $17, or about the cost of 3 packs of cigarettes per month.
With carrier plans coming down like they are, its quite likely that today’s iPhone with plan won’t cost much different from a few years ago.
A $1200 price tag isn’t going to have any negative impact on iPhone sales.
I agree. Please remember that Apple is an aspirational brand.
To a certain degree, the more they charge, the more I want one.
I always buy the top of the line model when it comes to my iPhone. Why mess around?
Just my 2 cents.
+ Tax. + activation fee. Plus, special new carrier tax just because it’s an iPhone. Looking like $1,400 now.
No, many of us buy the phone outright, since the end of subsidy.
YEAH! Just like all those car makers risked losing longtime customers when they introduced higher end models to their line up. Stupid, BMW. If they had just kept making the 2002 they might have done ok. But, NOOO, they had to go make a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8-series. Killed the whole company. NOBODY drives a Bimmer anymore.
It seems most people are reading the headlines as being the entry level price expectations, and for the most part, the articles are about the possible cost of the highest end unit. Which is something of a disservice to anyone who does not need, or want, all of the shiny bells & whistles-whatever they turn out to be.
While I agree that $1200 is not too much, I would not be surprised if Apple did something quite different this year. I could see them pricing the iPhone Pro at about $1000 (or perhaps $1200), and lowering the price of the 7S and 7S plus by $100 (from the 7), while discontinuing the 7. This would provide a brand new model at a cheaper price, thus driving demand for the 7S. They would not need a 7. Only the SE ($399), 7S ($549), 7S plus ($649), and Pro would be offered. This would soften the sting of the higher priced phone and simplify the iPhone line. They would actually have one less phone to deal with. They would make up the margin on the $99 conductive charging accessory used by all the new phones.
Would be lovely if AAPL is $1,200 instead.😃
It’s actually about $1450.00 right now (before AAPL’s last 10/1 split)…😊
The split was 7/1, not 10/1, so the current pre-split price of AAPL is $1015
This article is just speculation until Apple launches the product. But even if these price predictions are true, the iPhone still packs an incredible amount of value in its huge range of functionality, saving me many hundreds if not thousands of dollars in money I would spend on other devices to get what the iPhone brings me.
Hell, let’s call it a day Apple. Start this at $2,000. Why not?
I’m very happy if the new top-of-the-line iPhone cost more than $1000. Personally, I would get the 7S. I’m not that much into my iPhone, our use the iPad much, much more.
Preferences in order:
Desktop Mac (Mac Pro Workstation, Mac mini)
Laptop Mac (MacBook Pro Retina)
iPad (iPad Pro 12.9″ with LTE)
iPhone (iPhone 7)
No, I am not ready or desiring a $1200 phone.
My gut reaction to a $1,200.00 iPhone as it is nothing other than the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (TAM) version 2.0.
It will likely sell just as well too (all sarcasm intended).
Yep.
Steve Jobs in 1995……
“What ruined Apple wasn’t growth … They got very greedy. Instead of following the original trajectory of the original vision, which was to make the thing an appliance and get this out there to as many people as possible, they went for profits. They made outlandish profits for about four years… What that cost them was their future. What they should have been doing is making rational profits and going for market share.”
I FULLY INTEND to be ready to buy the best of the best iPhone available, regardless of price. AAPL made me stinking rich, it’s the least I can do 😌😌😌😌😌
If so, the iPhone X would be priced high starting with 256GB. Anyways all these arguments must have been fielded by Apple months in Advance. Probably even before iPhone 7 was introduced.
I’m not “stinking rich” like a previous commenter. But, I am able to afford things I truly need/want. I will be buying the best iPhone they make available this fall. And quite frankly, I don’t care what price they ask for it. If it is under $3500, I’m in. If it’s over $3500, I will have to buy my wife a nice piece of jewelry and then I’m in! It will be my $10,000 iPhone, I guess…
Things have changed so much since Cook took over the helm.
Jobs “ALWAYS” was so close to consumers/users, thinking from customers’ viewpoint, be it products they like, or affordable pricing.
“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them. – Steve Jobs”
Now, Apple is milking us, a crazy profit seeker. Over 80% of profit of all mobile phone industry with just 20% or so market share? Becoming the first trillion $ company with over 60% being iPhone? $1,000 phone? It’s just a phone!
Just too profit crazy.
Always spreading a rumour of supply chain constraint to hype up demands and justify high price. I am willing to pay legitimate price for any products that deserve high end prices. Maintaining high end image and command high price is one thing, but getting carried away and milk us, consumers, is quite another. It only helps poor Android competitors to justify high price as well. All in all, not good for the industry either. It is getting ridiculous. They may want to plant an image that Apple products are fashion products, but actually they are not after certain point. Time for Cook and Angela to go.
I don’t know if KenT is the same anonymous troller as kent, but the content seems similar in nature.
Apple continues to maintain the same relative gross profit margin that it has for years. At the same time, Apple has massively increased R&D spending. You are welcome to your own opinion, but that is not “milking” consumers.
Just because other vendors are not profiting as much from their larger market share does not mean that Apple is doing something wrong or is “profit crazy.” Many of the Android phones being sold are lower end, commodity units. Apple does not sell those types of products. In Jobs’ words, “we don’t sell junk.”
I sincerely doubt that Apple is spreading supply chain rumors to boost demand or prices. First, demand is way too high at every new Apple product release. Why would Apple try to boost early demand? It makes no sense. While Apple may strategically leak selected information for specific purposes, the company is notoriously secretive. I sincerely doubt that Apple is playing the same propaganda games as Microsoft and Google.
Finally, the iPhone is not “just a phone.” Ten years ago the iPhone reinvented the phone. It combined cell phone functions with iPod functions and real internet capabilities. Then came the App Store. The current iPhone is a true portable computer with high-end processing capabilities, incredible graphics, a great camera, and a wide array of sensors in addition to cell phone, email, texting, internet access, etc. — all in a handheld configuration that can run on a small battery for hours. Apple has taken a desktop computer, improved it in all respects, and miniaturized it into a pocket-sized package. This is Star Trek technology in 2017. If you go back about 15 to 20 years, the iPhone would be considered a handheld, battery-powered supercomputer pushing more pixels than anything else available in the commercial market. It is not just a phone…
Personally, I do not want to see iPhone prices increase. I liked the model in which Apple continued to offer more capability and functionality at the same price points (or less). I was disappointed when the prices of the MBP increased substantially with the release of the TouchBar models. But I am also practical – quality costs and so does cutting edge, miniaturized technology. Apple pays for components, assembly, shipping, distribution, warranty service, R&D, etc. As long as Apple is not radically increasing its profit margin, then I see no reason to complain.
Of course, some people just want stuff for free…
I am always the same KenT, not having to be anonymous or hide. I say what I think and do not have to hide. Your analysis sounds a bit too simplistic, but I have been with Apple products over a quarter century, and definitely feel that they have changed since Cook took over. That’s all I say to you, and I digress. Someone said here if he should buy a phone or a laptop. Yeah, it says it all. Did you get it, a long name anonymous boy? 🙂
Should I buy a laptop or an iphone… hmmmm…
Sorry love my iPhone but 1000+ is to high. They will price themselves out of the market and lose any share they have gained. Sure droid isn’t as good but for $500 less it doesn’t have to be it just has to be good enough for the average person.
Apple is going to miss it if they do this.
I love how armchair quarterbacks, who can’t even spell properly, are business experts.
Some of us already paid $1500 plus AUD on a 6s back when it came out. Price is only part of the story. Does it do what you want, the way you want it to?
It just means I don’t upgrade as frequently as I would like to. Extra “features” usually aren’t sufficient to attract me to upgrade and the longevity of iApple products is such that a 4S is still doing a very useful job in the car as sat-Nav and audio player.
I am a 60+ self funded retiree and value the quality and longevity of these products so much so that the initial cost is (almost) irrelevant as I know that barring accidents I am going to enjoy the product for many years to come.
This sounds like it’s right up Donald Trump’s alley. He could buy hundreds of them with his small loan of a million dollars.
Since Apple is run by finance ninja’s its not focussed anymore on making the best products possible and innovate. So no I am not ready for a €1200 phone unless Apple provides damn good reasons to change my mind.