Apple's Steady iPhone Pricing Pays Off as Rivals Scramble

[JPack]

Do some people really believe the myth that iPhone prices haven't gone up?

The Pro jumped from $999 to $1,099, and the Pro Max went from $1,099 to $1,199. Eliminating a lower storage tier to justify a higher starting price is just marketing spin. The cost per gigabyte has historically gone down across the tech industry.

The increases on Mac and iPad are clearly based on the amount of RAM and storage the device contains. There's no reason why the same won't apply to iPhone.

 

[frownface]

the base 17's pricing was pretty sweet. Namely due to the 256gb priced the same as the 128gb base 16.

 

[bgillander]

This article fails to mention to mention that the single largest generator of phone upgrades, regardless of price point, is the subsidies that carriers are willing to offer. “Trade in any iPhone and get a new one on us.” I suspect that absent this scheme, iPhone sales would likely be substantially smaller, and the refresh cycle would be more akin to the equally priced MacBooks. That said, if someone has evidence or reporting to the contrary I would be interested in reading.

But doesn't every other manufacturer get those same subsidies for their phones? This article seems to be saying that Apple is retaining phone sales better than other manufacturers are, so this would be that one scenario where it makes no sense comparing Apples to Apples.

But, sure, getting a subsidy encourages people to buy. That doesn't seem like too much of a stretch of the imagination.

That said, I bought my iPhone outright to just save money on my monthly phone plan because where I live you seldom actually "get a new one on them", as the monthly plan price difference usually more than covers that "savings". So I keep my iPhone longer and just pay lower phone bills every month until I absolutely need a new model, and my 13 mini is fortunately still carrying on, as I have no desire to replace it until I have no choice, since it is no longer a choice.

 

[CEmajr]

The actual impact of price increases in the US is going to depend on what type of financing structure the carriers can come up with. If they do something like 36 month financing instead of 24 months to keep the monthly payments low then I except them to still sell boatloads of iPhones.

I can’t speak on other countries but the average American consumer cares way more about how much it costs them upfront to get the phone out the door and the monthly cost than the total price. This was why the increase of the iPhone price from the standard $649 to $1k+ today had virtually zero impact on iPhone sales.

 

[Le_Chiffre]

Do some people really believe the myth that iPhone prices haven't gone up?

The Pro jumped from $999 to $1,099, and the Pro Max went from $1,099 to $1,199. Eliminating a lower storage tier to justify a higher starting price is just marketing spin. The cost per gigabyte has historically gone down across the tech industry.

The increases on Mac and iPad are clearly based on the amount of RAM and storage the device contains. There's no reason why the same won't apply to iPhone.

To be fair prices have not gone up as Apple only eliminated the base tier 😂

 

[webkit]

Do some people really believe the myth that iPhone prices haven't gone up?

Some iPhone model prices have gone up recently, some haven't. The iPhone 17 (with 256GB storage) is the same $829 price as what the iPhone 12 (with only 64GB storage) was back in 2020. With like storage (256GB), the iPhone 12 was $979 or $150 more than today's 17.

The iPhone 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 each started at $829.

The Pro jumped from $999 to $1,099, and the Pro Max went from $1,099 to $1,199. Eliminating a lower storage tier to justify a higher starting price is just marketing spin. The cost per gigabyte has historically gone down across the tech industry.

Considering that the iPhone 11 Pro was $999 and 11 Pro Max was $1,099 (both with only 64GB) back in 2019, I think $1,099 and $1,199 for today's 17 Pro and Pro Max (with four times the storage) is a pretty modest increase over 6+ years. With like storage (256GB), the 11 Pro was $1,149 and the 11 Pro Max was $1,249 back in 2019 or $50 more than today's 17 Pro and Pro Max.

Today's 17 models are also bigger and have more/better features or components than 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 models of the past.

I think Apple has done a pretty good job keeping prices relatively stable considering inflation, new/better/larger features and components, increased labor costs, etc.

 

[bgillander]

What a VERY short sighted article, because come September when they announce a 2000 folding phone, and price increase of around 300 across all the other devices.. you'll see those sales plummet. They will be taking the standard iPhone model up to the 1000 price band. 1200 to 1300 for an iPhone Air anyone?....

Nothing short sighted about it, as they specifically mention the possibility that Apple prices may increase in the next update. The fact that Apple have had an advantage because they haven’t yet increased is actually the whole point of the article. Consider this the before of the “before and after” series, so you can measure the impact of any increase.

 

[bgillander]

Do some people really believe the myth that iPhone prices haven't gone up?

The Pro jumped from $999 to $1,099, and the Pro Max went from $1,099 to $1,199. Eliminating a lower storage tier to justify a higher starting price is just marketing spin. The cost per gigabyte has historically gone down across the tech industry.

The increases on Mac and iPad are clearly based on the amount of RAM and storage the device contains. There's no reason why the same won't apply to iPhone.

The historical trend of RAM pricing and SSD/disk depends on the granularity and timeframe observed. While it overall has decreased historically, there have been many spikes where it has jumped dramatically for months at a time, so if you aren’t using an observation period of years the trend can reverse. This prior year is obviously one of those, and all indications appear to be that the price increases will continue for another year or more if the AI bubble doesn’t burst first.

 

[bushman4]

Apple has kept prices reasonable over the years But the true test comes now when Apple is no longer the major buyer of memory and able to procure memory at good prices