“Apple’s next flagship phone will likely run you something like $1,200, which seems absurd given that Apple’s best smartphones traditionally start at around $650,” David Pierce writes for Wired. “Part of the appeal of owning an iPhone, in fact, comes from knowing you, Kim Kardashian, and Tim Cook all carry the same device. But at 12 Benjamins, the iPhone becomes a dream for most people.”
“You probably don’t care that a wildly expensive phone pads Apple’s bottom line and reasserts the iPhone’s luxury status. But even if you can’t or won’t spend that much on a smartphone, be happy knowing that some people can and will,” Pierce writes. “That bonkers price tag gives Apple access to technology too rare and too expensive to put into 100 million $650 handsets. And that means Cupertino can innovate again—and once Apple does something, others follow. Before long, all the stuff coming to a phone you can’t afford will come to a phone you can.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Most people do not buy their iPhones outright. So, $1,200 spread out over 24 months is $50/month. So, yeah, a lot of people will be able to afford it.
Apple won’t be able to make enough. Expect protracted shortages for “iPhone 8,” “iPhone Pro,” “iPhone X,” or whatever they call it. This will be Apple’s flagship, premium, cutting-edge iPhone and it should be priced as such (not to mention that the law of supply and demand dictates higher pricing).
Customers who are looking for lower sticker 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.
SEE ALSO:
Get ready for Apple’s $1,400 iPhone – July 18, 2017
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
Good news for everybody except consumers.
The price is understandable, and all the features of this year’s flagship will be available in sub $1000 iPhones in 1-2 years. For that price though I’d like to see a 3-year AppleCare option.
Are you always going to wait 1-2 years to get the previous iPhone?
There are A LOT of non gadget-freaks that buy new devices just when they REALLY NEED them 🙂 so they can expend the money living their lives…. for example discovering new countries, renewing their homes or investing it really important stuff.
I’ve been waiting three years between purchases, 3G, 4S, 6+. The iPhone 8 sounds very interesting, but I’ll wait and see what the price and features are before pulling the trigger. If its a difference of say $400, I will probably lean towards a 7+ instead.
If my lightning port didn’t require a rubber band to keep the cable in to charge and apps didn’t lag because of insufficient RAM, I’d have no problem holding on to my 6+ for another year or more.
Those iPhones will keep their value, just like the current ones. Sell it after 1 year and get $800 back. No problem, bring on the iPhone Xs
terrible way of thinking
“A super expensive apple iPhone is good news even if you can’t afford it”
Good for Apple. Not too sure about the stock holders. Definitely not the consumer.
My ex son-in law never worried about how much something cost. He only worried about how much a month it would cost him. Bankruptcy followed.
How much you want to bet that the “Pro” will be excluded from AT&T Next and other such “pay one price and always upgrade to the new iPhone” plans?
$1200 is like the frog in a pot about to boil.
Apple better turn the heat down because people aren’t frogs. They will quit and Apple will have this phone they can’t sell.
Does anyone actually expect Apple to repeat Angela’s gold Apple watch boondoggle? What a waste that was. Electronics are not and won’t soon be heirloom items. One can blow his money on having the latest iPhones or the most exciting fads every year, but I have more important things to do. Apple can try all it wants to make an exclusive product, but the dirty little secret is that companies that specialize in limited volume, high priced luxury goods don’t actually make tons of money themselves. As we can all plainly see, Apple is more interested is making tons of money than it is in offering a wide array of products at all price points.
a $1200 iPhone is not a luxury boondoggle. see above.
Hmm. Be like a Kardashian? I think that’s a good reason NOT to buy an ultra-expensive hand-held micro-mini computer that also functions as a cell phone.