iPhone 17 Hot Take on newest iPhones? The Price is "reasonable" !?!

[phillyman]

Hi All,

I've been thinking about this since the newest phones were announced. Am I the only one that was very surprised the prices weren't higher? For some models Apple doubled the start storage. They added ProMotion to the regular iPhone. Tariffs are all around.. etc. etc.

BUT for ONCE Apple didn't just raise the prices? The iPhone in some ways is a solid price against the Pixels. Everyone assumed prices would be raised. Most here bemoan Tim Cook. They feel Apple has lost its way since Jobs stepped back but this year seems like a masterclass by Cook and his team. The world is as unpredictable as ever and they still kept their prices stable.

Don't get me wrong 2K for a phone is insane but for Apple prices, this year was very surprising to me but I don't see much written or talked about the prices. In advance most pundits expected price increases.

Should we be talking about this as an important factor for people to upgrade on this cycle? Almost on par with some hardware feature?
As a resident techie in my circles, I for years have recommended holding on to older phones. They had gotten so powerful, you could keep an older phone since the upgrades year to year were not leaps and bounds. But this year I will be recommending anyone iPhone 14 and older to upgrade.

Curious anyone else feel Apple should be getting more credit on this aspect?
Philly

 

[sevoneone]

Depends on who you ask, but the answer will get political real quick in any case. Short answer:

1) Apple negotiates huge multi-year purchase commitments for things like raw materials and components like DRAM and NAND chips, locking in the price and ensuring their costs remain stable/predictable.
2) Apple has enough overhead in what they charge for storage upgrades to easily cover keeping their base pricing stable even while offering more for less and absorbing some of the impacts tariffs.
3) Apple has enough capital and logistical resources to quickly shuffle where they source their parts and run their assembly operations to minimize costs and the impact of tariffs.
4) Tim Cook has maintained good relations with a controversial administration and has been able to leverage that to Apple's advantage.

Throwing politics out the window and looking at all off this from strictly a business perspective, Tim Cook is probably the best CEO Apple could have right now. Look up his history under Jobs as COO and he's really the architect of modern logistics at Apple and what has enabled them to continue to put billions in the bank every year.

It is pretty incredible that Apple has the room to do what they do, spend massive amounts on projects that have no assurances of long term returns (Vison Pro), or are just fat failures (Apple Car, Apple Intelligence), their prices remain pretty flat compared to inflation, they don't have to do mass layoffs at the scale and frequency of other companies or over react to their share price. I can't name another tech company that stable.

I try to keep all of that in mind at times when Apple's pricing seems outlandish and even greedy. There are times when it all balances out on both sides.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Call me crazy but $2k for a phone isn’t crazy considering what you can get for $2k.

For $2k is a maxed out Pro Max. A device that can make calls, texts, take great photos, video in 4k, has two day battery, can play games, stream music, and do basically everything a tablet or desktop could.

Also the great thing about Apple is I no longer feel the need to upgrade every year. I was just on a 13 mini that didn’t have any signs of slowing down. The cpu is so advanced there’s nothing stopping you from keeping it for several years.

On top of all that I paid $1299 plus tax for a phone that does everything above by being more realistic with my needs. 512GB is just fine for me and 3x the empty space does make its capabilities or experience any better.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Depends on who you ask, but the answer will get political real quick in any case. Short answer:

1) Apple negotiates huge multi-year purchase commitments for things like raw materials and components like DRAM and NAND chips, locking in the price and ensuring their costs remain stable/predictable.
2) Apple has enough overhead in what they charge for storage upgrades to easily cover keeping their base pricing stable even while offering more for less and absorbing some of the impacts tariffs.
3) Apple has enough capital and logistical resources to quickly shuffle where they source their parts and run their assembly operations to minimize costs and the impact of tariffs.
4) Tim Cook has maintained good relations with a controversial administration and has been able to leverage that to Apple's advantage.

Throwing politics out the window and looking at all off this from strictly a business perspective, Tim Cook is probably the best CEO Apple could have right now. Look up his history under Jobs as COO and he's really the architect of modern logistics at Apple and what has enabled them to continue to put billions in the bank every year.

It is pretty incredible that Apple has the room to do what they do, spend massive amounts on projects that have no assurances of long term returns (Vison Pro), or are just fat failures (Apple Car, Apple Intelligence), their prices remain pretty flat compared to inflation, they don't have to do mass layoffs at the scale and frequency of other companies or over react to their share price. I can't name another tech company that stable.

I try to keep all of that in mind at times when Apple's pricing seems outlandish and even greedy. There are times when it all balances out on both sides.

Tariffs wouldn’t be part of the deal because that’s a charge on the imported product. The components where already agreed to and not subject since they hadn’t entered the US. Also with manufacturing lines we’re probably at the point where 128GB would have cost them more. Just like trying to buy 2gb stick of desktop memory now. Wouldn’t be surprised if 256gb is here to stay for a while.

 

[ArchEtech]

If they thought they could charge more they would. Any price bump would have made even fewer people move from the 16 to 17 as it wasn't a huge jump anyway.

I would pay $3000 for a super light indestructible Ti unibody phone that didn't need a case. I'd pay $3000 for a folding iphone that could replace my iPad mini. Most people probably wouldn't be interested in that price range.

 

[phillyman]

Depends on who you ask, but the answer will get political real quick in any case. Short answer:

1) Apple negotiates huge multi-year purchase commitments for things like raw materials and components like DRAM and NAND chips, locking in the price and ensuring their costs remain stable/predictable.
2) Apple has enough overhead in what they charge for storage upgrades to easily cover keeping their base pricing stable even while offering more for less and absorbing some of the impacts tariffs.
3) Apple has enough capital and logistical resources to quickly shuffle where they source their parts and run their assembly operations to minimize costs and the impact of tariffs.
4) Tim Cook has maintained good relations with a controversial administration and has been able to leverage that to Apple's advantage.

Throwing politics out the window and looking at all off this from strictly a business perspective, Tim Cook is probably the best CEO Apple could have right now. Look up his history under Jobs as COO and he's really the architect of modern logistics at Apple and what has enabled them to continue to put billions in the bank every year.

It is pretty incredible that Apple has the room to do what they do, spend massive amounts on projects that have no assurances of long term returns (Vison Pro), or are just fat failures (Apple Car, Apple Intelligence), their prices remain pretty flat compared to inflation, they don't have to do mass layoffs at the scale and frequency of other companies or over react to their share price. I can't name another tech company that stable.

I try to keep all of that in mind at times when Apple's pricing seems outlandish and even greedy. There are times when it all balances out on both sides.

Very well summarized and put. I appreciate even adding in the aspect of no mass layoffs and the excellent point that they just absorb the cost of failures.

It would be nice to get some fresher ideas on some products but we have to admit that many have just matured and Apple has perfected the basic model/package. Also its nice to have found a bit of a usability balance. Adding some ports to laptops did not destroy the looks ... Not about that magic mouse....


Thank you sevoneone for your insight. Politics aside (not a fan of the current administration) I can't fault Apple on this one. Tim Cook has a job to do and he seems to have navigated that mine field as well as any CEO (and yes also a shareholder).

Philly

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[phillyman]

Call me crazy but $2k for a phone isn’t crazy considering what you can get for $2k.

For $2k is a maxed out Pro Max. A device that can make calls, texts, take great photos, video in 4k, has two day battery, can play games, stream music, and do basically everything a tablet or desktop could.

Also the great thing about Apple is I no longer feel the need to upgrade every year. I was just on a 13 mini that didn’t have any signs of slowing down. The cpu is so advanced there’s nothing stopping you from keeping it for several years.

On top of all that I paid $1299 plus tax for a phone that does everything above by being more realistic with my needs. 512GB is just fine for me and 3x the empty space does make its capabilities or experience any better.

you are not wrong. I have to reset my thinking. These are full on computers with screens and a small form factor. I don't blink paying that for a mbp . Also rocking the 13 mini.. Hope to eek out another year or two. But first time in awhile I've been tempted by the new phone. I still would like smaller but I know that time has passed

 

[lazy_desi_]

This year we are lucky to have a $799 new model released in September.

from next year onwards the starting price will be $999 for new iPhones that will be releasing in September.

 

[JPack]

Apple’s marketing team must be patting themselves on the back if you didn’t notice Pro increased to $1,099.

Tariffs are not in effect on smartphones due to Tim Cook’s negotiations with the White House.