Apple is in a premium market - so there was maybe not much consequence to expect with a 5-10% increase. I don't know in Europe, how they are doing financially, but the 20% price increase doesn't deliver you a 20% better product, it's a pure financial decision. I guess the consequences might be dramatical. Other recent decisions were already extremely risky. The iMac 27" was an extremely popular product over here, beyond the consumers, it was also very present in companies, education, etc. - while the Mac Studio remains for most an out of reach product. At the new price level Apple might again lose market in the EU. Companies will decide to cancel iPhone-purchase programs for their staff and switch to (much) cheaper Android alternatives. It is btw not the first time. Also around 2014 there was a very serious increase due to currency issues (I think about 10%). Anticipating to some of the expectations above, prices never went down when the $ lost value against the €. The increases we are facing now are there to stay forever. Somehow, I'm sorry to say, I hope that this will hurt Apple seriously in their EU-sales.
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App Store Prices to Increase in Europe Next Month
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I empathize with pricing anxiety, but could people kindly read the eight(!) sentences of the article before the comment based on a complete misunderstanding of what this story is about?
This isn't (chiefly) about Apple enriching itself. It's largely about third-party developers not being screwed over by inflation.
This isn't (chiefly) about Apple enriching itself. It's largely about third-party developers not being screwed over by inflation.
The rampant inflation happening everywhere has no influence on pricing? Inflation can affect digital goods through increased wages and costs of hardware and more.
This is not just tied to monetary exchange rates.
A friend of mine put it very simple: "Apple is not a global company. Apple is an American company with a global presence". If USD is home currency ... then non-USD price fluctuations are business as usual.
I think in isolation the response to the news here at times is a bit dramatic, but there's currently a pattern that might not work out great for Apple (and consumers, of course).
The smart thing, of course, would be to buy for longevity if you can afford it. A £449 iPhone SE that can last you 6-7 years if need be might be a better investment than a £349 Pixel 6a that lasts 4, but I assume unless you really want to stay in the iOS ecosystem -- which granted a lot of people do -- the larger screen, the better camera etc etc might sway some people.
The real questions then might be what the long-term implications will be. I doubt Apple will get more affordable anytime soon and once you lose someone to a different ecosystem it might be hard to get them back.
Anyway, the future looks bleak right now, the rest we shall see.
* Not all consumers will ultimately care whether it actually delivers any material benefit, it's a perception issue.
- The price for iPhones this year has gone up quite significantly to an extent that, I think, will hurt the average consumer struggling to pay food, energy bills, rising rents and other essentials.
- At the same time, Apple is restricting a lot of "cool new stuff"* (tm) to its most expensive devices, which means that those looking to cheaper options -- an SE, last year's phones, refurbished devices -- will be shut out of some software and all hardware improvements for quite some time.
- Overall, inflation is pushing up the price of everything while wages are not keeping pace, meaning almost everyone currently sees wage cuts in real terms that are likely to persist for quite some time. People will have less disposable income to spend.
The smart thing, of course, would be to buy for longevity if you can afford it. A £449 iPhone SE that can last you 6-7 years if need be might be a better investment than a £349 Pixel 6a that lasts 4, but I assume unless you really want to stay in the iOS ecosystem -- which granted a lot of people do -- the larger screen, the better camera etc etc might sway some people.
The real questions then might be what the long-term implications will be. I doubt Apple will get more affordable anytime soon and once you lose someone to a different ecosystem it might be hard to get them back.
Anyway, the future looks bleak right now, the rest we shall see.
* Not all consumers will ultimately care whether it actually delivers any material benefit, it's a perception issue.
Prices in the EU always include VAT, in the US they don't. Hence why the 0.99€ = 0.99USD pricepoints worked well for a time where 1€ were 1.1 - 1.2USD
Thing is, even an SE will get you the newest iOS. It won't get you all features, but I mostly find the differences acceptable. For example, only the iPhone Pro gets ProRAW. That's fine. That's inarguably a high-end feature that few people use; I'm sure even among iPhone Pro buyers, only a minority use it. Other than that, it's mostly hardware differences, sometimes to save on cost, and sometimes to also save on space: the iPhone Pro telephoto camera would make the SE a lot larger, which clashes with what a lot of people want out of that device.
(Similarly, Apple Watch SE lacks some hardware capabilities, but does run the latest watchOS, and will get software updates with free new features for years to come.)
America is supreme. If you don’t like the increase pricing, fix your currency or move to the land of the great.
It’s not about being greedy, he has a legal obligation to increase profits and shareholder value.
Apple would have to become a private company for that legal requirement to go away.
App store is US based, so u can’t say “price increased of lowered” only by comparing its prices to other currencies, while these prices are actually still stable in US. Only other currencies stores can say so.You realize that by paying in USD, your prices have already increased as the Euro weakened?
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Price hikes???
For a year you were buying everything cheaper, because apple and the developers covered the costs of the fall of the Euro. Now the prices will be adjusted, because how much can you pay extra to a collapsing Europe?
Nah
Just people with less money will buy less.
People are habitual, I would never change my ways due to price increases unless I can’t afford it
The SE is a good product with an amazing SoC for the price, but a small screen, no night photography, no ultra wide camera, an average battery life at best etc. It's a good phone, but it comes with limitations and trade offs in areas that a lot of people care about.
It's all apples and oranges of course, but someone might be inclined to check Apple's website, see that even last year's models haven't really gone down in price while they can buy a Pixel 6a for less than an SE for a comparable experience (unless you are in the ecosystem) or a current Galaxy S22 for way less than an iPhone 13.
I think there's a lot of variables and I think I'd want to see how everything develops and others react, but I do think there's currently a risk that Apple is pricing itself out of the European market.
I suspect people care more about being in the Apple ecosystem than price. If that weren’t the case there’d have already been a mass exodus to android.
Just stop the bs Rap is currently the most listened to and popular genre of music. If they were using nothing but rock or pop music would you still be complaining. They are going to use music in their events and promos there is nothing with it being rap. How in an article about Eu price increases you find away to complain about black music
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I've heard this said a few times about American corporations. The thing is, how would you enforce it? For example, Tim Apple could reasonably argue that long term profits and shareholder value are best served by keeping app prices low, thus encouraging more sales (of apps and devices).
I don't care much for rap, but my throat feels unviolated. I recommend speaking to a medical doctor.
He could, but presumably Apple have done their sums and this approach is what they deem the best way to go.
Side note - app prices are already really low, even after an exchange rate increase. Keeping them lower and leaving that extra cash on the table probably doesn’t help Apple as these are not price sensitive purchases (other than the difference between free and not free, which this doesn’t change).
