iPhone X Apple builds its first ever budget iPhone

[Gudi]

Apple did it. They built their first budget iPhone - the iPhone XR. Every year there are rumors about a cheaper iPhone model for the mass market of price-conscious Apple enthusiasts. They never come true. Except now! The iPhone XR was designed to be maximum affordable with modern technology.

Previously we had the iPhone 5C and SE, who promised to deliver on the cheap iPhone dream. The 5C wasn’t noticeably cheaper and amidst the 64-bit transition hopelessly outdated from the start. It only offered an interesting new design with unapologetically colorful plastic. The SE on the other hand came with a fairly new six month old processor and camera and at least later on hit very low price points, but you had to make up with an old form factor and old screen. It was a retro phone reminiscent of a time when you could use a phone with one hand.

Now comes the XR and it has the newest processor and its own screen. Sure it’s not OLED and not Super Retina and it lacks a 3D Touch layer, but it was designed this year for this phone to deliver an edge-to-edge display at the lowest possible price point. A price which mustn’t strike you as cheap, but it is. Apple’s insane profit margin of 38% hasn’t gone up with the iPhone X. The X is more expensive, only because its components are more expensive to make. And the iPhone XR is a very close resemblance to Apple’s flagship phone at a much lower price. It was designed specifically to be the same but cheaper, something neither the 5C or SE even tried to achieve.

This strategy shift also acknowledges that Apple was in danger of losing customers. Which didn’t happen in the first year of the price increase, but S-year customers aren’t exactly early adopters either, who will pay anything for the latest novelty. The question remains, how do we convince Apple that iMac and MacBook Pro prices also need to come down again?

 

[iScone]

$749 is not “maximum affordable”.

 

[ThatiPhoneKid]

It’s definetly not a budget iPhone, £749 is a lot of money and 2 years ago this was the price of apples flagship smartphone

 

[44267547]

$749 is not “maximum affordable”.

You’re, it’s not. But I will say that it does offer quite a bit from what I have viewed and it’s $250 cheaper under the iPhone X. I think iPhone XR is slated to do really well, because the consumer will see a new form factor, Face ID and multiple color options still offering the latest processor and wireless charging.

 

[balaplus]

It’s definetly not a budget iPhone, £749 is a lot of money and 2 years ago this was the price of apples flagship smartphone

That is Apple shrewdness for you..... making 750 look like a bargain
Can't deny that Xr offers a nice balance of everything in one package and is going to be the best option for most upgraders

 

[faridzulpazilah]

It is not a budget phone. It is "Apple's budget phone". Aslo, not much improvement seen on the iPhone XR. Personally, Apple should not release their "budget" iPhone, instead keep releasing the flagship devices. The budget phone will only downgrade their status as the giant smartphone company.

 

[torana355]

If it had a 1080p screen it would actually be a pretty awesome phone but at 750usd it's inexcusable to have the resolution Apple went with when there are phones for the same price with quad HD Oled panels.

 

[cola79]

It’s neither a budget phone nor affordable.

Their budget phone was the SE, which gives you the full iOS experience except not necessary things like 3D Touch, faceID and notches. And this for below 300 dollar/euro.

Now someone who is interested in iOS has to put over 500 on the table, the entry prices have doubled. The SE was technically only one year behind the newest flagship. Now you get a phone that is 3-4 years behind and pay twice as much.

Apple shifts to a luxury brand, as they can’t compete with Huawai, Xiaomi, Oppo etc.

It’s risky, because even very rich people (and you must be this thinking 1000 dollar telephones do have a right to exist) begin to wonder why replacing a screen costs more than a brand new phone from competitors.

I believe tge Apple guys lost contact to the real world now that they have become so rich. They forgot that the world isn’t a place of antiseptic hipsters who believe caring about how to pay your bills is a thing of yesterday people.

Even their advertising is kind of comedy. They show a world of below thirty years people who just party and travel the world. No older people, no disability, no poor people, no people with three jobs etc.

They do the same mistake again and will fall again. They are incapable of doing a long term business, they just run after the money. But they are not hip anymore, so the money will travel to the next big thing...

 

[Cloudsurfer]

It’s neither a budget phone nor affordable.

Their budget phone was the SE, which gives you the full iOS experience except not necessary things like 3D Touch, faceID and notches. And this for below 300 dollar/euro.

Now someone who is interested in iOS has to put over 500 on the table, the entry prices have doubled. The SE was technically only one year behind the newest flagship. Now you get a phone that is 3-4 years behind and pay twice as much.

Apple shifts to a luxury brand, as they can’t compete with Huawai, Xiaomi, Oppo etc.

It’s risky, because even very rich people (and you must be this thinking 1000 dollar telephones do have a right to exist) begin to wonder why replacing a screen costs more than a brand new phone from competitors.

I believe tge Apple guys lost contact to the real world now that they have become so rich. They forgot that the world isn’t a place of antiseptic hipsters who believe caring about how to pay your bills is a thing of yesterday people.

Even their advertising is kind of comedy. They show a world of below thirty years people who just party and travel the world. No older people, no disability, no poor people, no people with three jobs etc.

They do the same mistake again and will fall again. They are incapable of doing a long term business, they just run after the money. But they are not hip anymore, so the money will travel to the next big thing...

It's not that difficult to understand. The smartphone market is saturated and everyone has pretty much settled into their Android or iOS camp. The only way to facilitate growth in this case is to increase the price of your products. And they did it in the most ingeneous way possible: introduce a premium phone on year 1 and on year 2 basically make that the new flagship price while calling the original price 'budget'.

And as long as people keep paying they will just increase the prices until they find that sweet spot between maximum growth and maximum profit.

 

[cola79]

It's not that difficult to understand. The smartphone market is saturated and everyone has pretty much settled into their Android or iOS camp. The only way to facilitate growth in this case is to increase the price of your products. And they did it in the most ingeneous way possible: introduce a premium phone on year 1 and on year 2 basically make that the new flagship price while calling the original price 'budget'.

And as long as people keep paying they will just increase the prices until they find that sweet spot between maximum growth and maximum profit.

When a market is saturated like this, you don’t grow by increasing the price, you shrink. The number of customers gets down when you raise prices in a saturated field.

Apple is what it is only on the stock markets. This can change overnight. If you want to keep a company alive, you must make yourself independent from the stock market or in Apples case, keep a customer base. Stock holders will run in masses when prices get up and customers get down.

They do the same mistake like Nokia now, they believe they can sell very expensive phones without something that makes them unique or ahead of the competition.

Look at companies on the stock market who have survived for decades. They either affordable for the masses or have a product nobody else is offering. You won’t find a long life business where the product is climbing prices only.

Apple did this mistake before and they disappeared.

 

[Gudi]

250 - 38% = 155

To offer an X-like iPhone at $250 less and maintain its profit margin, Apple had to cut component costs by $155 which is a lot. They could have created an SE 2 based on the existing body of the iPhone 6|7|8. But it wouldn’t be that much faster than the iPhone 7, which they still sell at $450. Besides what would you do with an A12 Bionic without the face-detecting sensors in the notch?

I don’t know what people expect, I would love to see the price of a Mac come down just one year after a brand new form factor was introduced. I wouldn’t think twice about sacrificing a few dots and settle happily for a 3K display and a trackpad without Force Touch.

 

[icewolf247]

It's amazing that anyone can say this is a mass market budget phone and keep a straight face

Smart phones < £200 would be closer to mass market budget phones and I am sure there are plenty of Android phones that fit the bill

 

[KrisLord]

When a market is saturated like this, you don’t grow by increasing the price, you shrink. The number of customers gets down when you raise prices in a saturated field.

Apple is what it is only on the stock markets. This can change overnight. If you want to keep a company alive, you must make yourself independent from the stock market or in Apples case, keep a customer base. Stock holders will run in masses when prices get up and customers get down.

They do the same mistake like Nokia now, they believe they can sell very expensive phones without something that makes them unique or ahead of the competition.

Look at companies on the stock market who have survived for decades. They either affordable for the masses or have a product nobody else is offering. You won’t find a long life business where the product is climbing prices only.

Apple did this mistake before and they disappeared.

The stock market is based on people’s view of future earnings and they seem pretty happy with Apple today.

 

[MrAverigeUser]

Most of the comments here are absolutely correct - a 800 USD iPhone is budget??
Maybe for someone on drugs.... I could afford it, but I don´t need it at all...


since many years apple just puts the price higher introducing useless gimmicks and useless "faster" processors nearly NOBODY needs in real world life. As if this would not be enough ridiculous, they follow a counterproductive design of "thinness - no matter how useless".
Instead, apple refuses to introduce worldwide industrial and USERFRIENDLY standards until they cannot withstand (like USB3) or produce portable computers with just ONE SINGLE connection who are thin, except for the many adapters to carry with yourself... a caricature of its former role as a technical frontrunner and user-friendly company it was once... a long time ago.

there is no need for highest-resolution screens, because our eyes will never augment their own resolution. But higher resolution screens will sacrify battery resources a lot.

I do NOT need a smartphone which loads data in 1,3 seconds instead in 1.6 seconds. You may not believe it, but I have the time to wait 0,3 seconds longer... believe it or not..

Bought a SE 2 64GB 2 years ago and just replaced it for a 128GB one 3 months ago.

battery life is amazing and it has everything a normal user needs -including a damn good camera (I am a photo-enthusiastic using semi-Pro-Cameras and primes).

More waterproof design would be nice, but that is it.

I appreciate also the 3,5mm connector to directly put in some of my in-ears but I can put in my Sennheiser ambeo in-ears as well without an adapter...

Hope for a SE-2 one day. But I can wait -if not coming, I will stay with the SE 128GB because I choose products in a rational way and I am amused about "early adopters" and people suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)...

cheers

 

[Gudi]

Smart phones < £200 would be closer to mass market budget phones and I am sure there are plenty of Android phones that fit the bill.

And a Dacia is cheaper than a Daimler. Could you stop wasting our time and discuss **** phones at androidcentral.com?

 

[russelljg]

£750 is not a budget priced phone.......simples

 

[icewolf247]

And a Dacia is cheaper than a Daimler. Could you stop wasting our time and discuss **** phones at androidcentral.com?

I used an example of what a real budget pHone is. You don't like android, which is fine but that is more the level what budget is

However, in the context of iPhones it is the cheaper but hardly budget. Apple could make a cheaper phone in the steps of the SE perhaps and a sub £500 or lower phone and that would be budget (to some expectations). They just don't want that market it seems

 

[Gudi]

£750 is not a budget priced phone.......simples

I don’t care about phones. The topic is budget iPhones, ignoring the rest of the world.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

And a Dacia is cheaper than a Daimler. Could you stop wasting our time and discuss **** phones at androidcentral.com?

Well that unnecessarily rude

....Anyway back to the topic.
I think the XR is more mid tier than ‘budget’ as to fit into the budget narrative really it should be under £500 where such a market exists and occupied by mostly Android offerings. For me the XR is about £50 more than it should have been based on what it offers. It’s also quite a big phone and will directly compete with the 8+ which for me offers a slightly better user experience. It’s a strange one but I expect based on its new form factor and snazzy colours it’ll probably be the best seller this year in the iPhone range.

 

[kasakka]

I don’t care about phones. The topic is budget iPhones, ignoring the rest of the world.

You can't just look at Apple in a vacuum. You are trying to imply that Apple's iPhone XR at 849€ starting price is a budget phone and to just ignore all the other manufacturers on the market that offer their flagship products at that price. The main thing the XR has going for it is running iOS if you prefer that over Android. Likewise just because the phone is cheaper in the US does not still make it a budget phone as the same pricing vs Android phones exists.

Apple's actual budget phones have been the SE lineup or the previous gen ones. Even now it's the iPhone 7 and 8 that are the ones people will buy if they want Apple but can't afford the XR or XS lines. The XR sits at a weird position where it's a large phone with a low resolution but otherwise good specs.

 

[FFR]

I don’t care about phones. The topic is budget iPhones, ignoring the rest of the world.

I don’t think you can call a phone with next generation processor or 3D facial biometrics budget.

 

[mrochester]

When a market is saturated like this, you don’t grow by increasing the price, you shrink. The number of customers gets down when you raise prices in a saturated field.

Apple is what it is only on the stock markets. This can change overnight. If you want to keep a company alive, you must make yourself independent from the stock market or in Apples case, keep a customer base. Stock holders will run in masses when prices get up and customers get down.

They do the same mistake like Nokia now, they believe they can sell very expensive phones without something that makes them unique or ahead of the competition.

Look at companies on the stock market who have survived for decades. They either affordable for the masses or have a product nobody else is offering. You won’t find a long life business where the product is climbing prices only.

Apple did this mistake before and they disappeared.

Apple has a product that no one else is offering; iOS.

It’s Samsung who should be worried as they are beginning to have their sales decimated by cheaper Android OEMs.

I’ve been saying for many many many years that Samsung desperately needs its own operating system and ecosystem.

 

[1050792]

5C, SE anyone, Those were way more budget friendly than the XR.

 

[magicMac]

A more aggressive price drop of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 would have worked out just as well for Apple than the XR. Now they have to recoup R&D of yet another device in the line-up. At least they dropped the X, 6S and SE now. Heck the iPhone 7 is still a great phone. Not sure about the Xr myself.

 

[bambooshots]

I junk most average users have lost touch with the real world and think phones are something that need to upgraded every year.