Business Insider is reporting USB analysts predict the upcoming iPhone Edition (or iPhone X) will start around $900 and go up to $1000 with added storage. This goes against a previous report from The New York Times who suggested the device would start at $999.
The reason for starting at $900 rather $1000 is due to how the market for flagship smartphones looks now. With Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus costing $840 and the Note 8 sporting a $950 price tag, a flagship OLED iPhone with 64GB of space priced at $900 apparently makes sense to the company. In addition, the iPhone will cost up to $1000 with 256GB of storage without a third storage tier (rumors previously suggested 512GB of space being available). This model would’ve cost $1,200, and the analysts “questioned the logic” of such a variant at such a high price.
Additionally, the analysts at UBS are against the arguments being presented as to why the iPhone Edition will be so expensive. “The arguments we’ve heard for a $1,200 phone are, ‘to manage supply constraints’ and ‘because the phone costs more.’ Both are inconsistent with how Apple thinks about pricing.”
“We don’t think Apple thinks ‘How much can we charge?’ Rather it chooses a price band worth playing in and then develops a product to fill that space. For example, Apple decided the $900-1,000 notebook market was worth entering. It then asked ‘What does our $900 MacBook look like?’ Enter the MacBook Air. If Apple cannot deliver an experience worthy of the brand at a given price band and profitability level, it does not proceed.”
Of course, the OLED iPhone will still cost a lot. $900 for a phone is definitely a shiny penny for consumers to kick out, and it’ll be interesting to see how well the flagship device performs on the market. The company’s other two devices, the redesigned iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, will likely cost $649 and $769 which are two prices consumers are used to when they upgrade to the latest and greatest smartphone from Apple. Therefore, those looking for a little more from the company’s smartphone lineup will probably pay this price. But for an average consumer, that extra $130-$250 could be a bit hard to hand over.
Apple’s unveiling all three new iPhones at an event on September 12th. We’ll let you about everything that goes on during the keynote here at Matridox.
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