iPhone 15 Pro Predicted to See First Price Increase Since iPhone X

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think Europeans need to stop entirely blaming Apple for high(er) prices and recognize that the price increases were largely due to the exchange rate (stronger USD). VAT is also not under Apple's control but it seems some Europeans want Apple to somehow cover that for them too.

Despite the increase in local currency (GBP), the pre-VAT price of a 128GB iPhone 14 at launch in England was actually LOWER in USD than the price for same phone in the U.S. Brits were offered the phone for less than the U.S. price yet some still tried to argue that Apple was greedily overcharging Europeans. SMH.

As a consumer I would like Apple to cover the cost yes to maintain fair pricing. What sane consumer wouldn’t? I’ll blame Apple all I want thanks, I’m a customer and not a shareholder so I owe them absolutely nothing.

Whether the price was cheaper in some strange USD conversion or not is by the by. It’s irrelevant to the fact prices soared by £150 on each iPhone over a 12 month period. Yes it’s largely down to inflation as everything has gone up, but that doesn’t mean I have to pay it and indeed I didn’t.

 

[ric22]

First U.S. price increase maybe. Increases elsewhere have been crazy the last few years!

 

[Zachari]

Nobody is gunna deprive themselves of that latest and greatest iPhone experience just to "send a message to Apple".

Unfortunately

 

[UnbreakableAlex]

The first iPhone was top notch technology. There was nothing comparable at that time and it costed 500€. Now apple is telling me they have to raise the price even higher? Ok, then I’m staying with my iPhone X another year, no problem.

 

[Chuckles55]

Apple has been saving me money for years since I can't use OLED phones. That said I know there is inflation, but I think a lot of companies are taking advantage of the situation to increase prices and bottom lines.

 

[webkit]

As a consumer I would like Apple to cover the cost yes to maintain fair pricing. What sane consumer wouldn’t? I’ll blame Apple all I want thanks, I’m a customer and not a shareholder so I owe them absolutely nothing.

Whether the price was cheaper in some strange USD conversion or not is by the by. It’s irrelevant to the fact prices soared by £150 on each iPhone over a 12 month period. Yes it’s largely down to inflation as everything has gone up, but that doesn’t mean I have to pay it and indeed I didn’t.

When Apple launched the iPhone 14 last year, the pre-VAT price of a 128GB iPhone 14 in England at the time was around $805 USD which was LESS than the $829 price for same phone in U.S. Apple had actually LOWERED the 14's launch price (in USD) for UK customers versus year prior (128GB iPhone 13) but I guess that wasn’t enough for some "greedy" Brits.

Just so I'm clear, you’re argument is that Apple should be charging U.S. customers (even) more so they can charge UK customers less?

If Apple had kept the 128GB iPhone 14 the same price as the 128GB 13 had been, it would've been priced at around $740 USD or nearly 11% less than the price of the same phone in the U.S. You think Apple should've been charging UK customers that much less than U.S. customers?

 

[onenorth]

You can still buy a brand new phone for less than $100, there's something for everyone's budget.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

When Apple launched the iPhone 14 last year, the pre-VAT price of a 128GB iPhone 14 in England at the time was around $805 USD which was LESS than the $829 price for same phone in U.S. Apple had actually LOWERED the 14's launch price (in USD) for UK customers versus year prior (128GB iPhone 13) but I guess that wasn’t enough for some "greedy" Brits.

Just so I'm clear, you’re argument is that Apple should be charging U.S. customers (even) more so they can charge UK customers less?

If Apple had kept the 128GB iPhone 14 the same price as the 128GB 13 had been, it would've been priced at around $740 USD or nearly 11% less than the price of the same phone in the U.S. You think Apple should've been charging UK customers that much less than U.S. customers?

I wasn’t suggesting US customers should be charged more so we can get cheaper prices no. I would like to see US customers charged more though and admitted that twice already. Of course I’d be more than happy to see prices come down and of course now inflation is decreasing in comparison to 2022, I’d expect the retail price here to drop this year too. The problem with US prices remaining low is it is creating a false impression that everybody is fine with soaring costs. At least if prices were high in the US and sales dropped, this might be passed onto everybody else.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

You can still buy a brand new phone for less than $100, there's something for everyone's budget.

Those are becoming quite popular again as it’s becoming trendy, especially for the younger generation to opt out of social media and move to more basic phones. I think there’s been an article on here about the resurgence of dumb phones in recent years. My Mum has one similar to that picture, although it cost me £180 and from a company called Dora. Has everything she needs.

 

[onenorth]

Those are becoming quite popular again as it’s becoming trendy, especially for the younger generation to opt out of social media and move to more basic phones. I think there’s been an article on here about the resurgence of dumb phones in recent years. My Mum has one similar to that picture, although it cost me £180 and from a company called Dora. Has everything she needs.

Voice, text, email, music player - what more do you need in a phone? I've made enough trips around the sun to understand that the price of everything from a can of beans to a new house always goes up, and up, and up. Apple will not price itself out of this lucrative market. And the hottest threads on this forum will once again be in September when everyone is expectantly tracking their new iPhone Pro deliveries even if there is a price bump.

 

[Zdigital2015]

It’s amazing how much income disparity bifurcates the buyer base now

I just was on a trip with friends that all make mid 6 figures (some a lot more) … and all of them are totally price insensitive (for obvious reasons).

Every one always has the latest huge Pro phone and the pricing of any of it never even occurs to them.

I wonder how far Apple can take this before the lines on the graph become a problem.

I suspect they could double the Pro phone prices but not lose 50% of sales and thus still be “ahead”

It’s frustrating to watch, because I suspect bean counter Tim plans to test how high they can go, across the product lines.

The real frustrating part is that down the price ladder we get “old stuff”…as opposed to new things built to hit those price points.

I don’t generally share the same opinions as you do, but as fast as this goes, I think you’re 100% right. I’m sporting an iPhone XR bought at release, my latest iPad is an Air 4 64GB bought for $379 on sale at Best Buy and my most recent Mac is a launch 13” M1 MacBook Pro 8/512GB. I have money I can spend although I am much more careful to stay as debt free as is possible, so watching the prices of any Apple devices versus the value while Apple continues to left software quality slip or be artificially gimped to get users to purchase an iPad and a Mac has gotten really, really old. I am hoping that users will vote with their wallets this year. Tim needs a realignment that there is a line with general consumers that crossing has consequences. I am not overly optimistic and there are nuggets of value in the Apple lineup, but in general I feel like the squeeze just keeps tightening little by little. My philosophy is that I will upgrade only when I absolutely have to do so. There’s no more buying for buying’s sake at all. Just my 2¢.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Voice, text, email, music player - what more do you need in a phone? I've made enough trips around the sun to understand that the price of everything from a can of beans to a new house always goes up, and up, and up. Apple will not price itself out of this lucrative market. And the hottest threads on this forum will once again be in September when everyone is expectantly tracking their new iPhone Pro deliveries even if there is a price bump.

I’d expect the next iPhone Pro to be a popular thread subject on here due to it being an Apple enthusiast site. However, Apple may or may not care but the price bumps are turning some consumers off. Apples sales were down for the fourth successive quarter at the end of 2022, but not as affected as the overall drop across the smartphone industry. Apple also switched a few years ago from publishing ‘units sold’ to ‘profit’ and as prices have increased, these figures don’t look as bad. My days of buying a new and current iPhone Pro are over as I’d rather buy a new but older model at a price I think a phone is worth. Those who want to drop £1500 on a new iPhone are more than welcome to it as far as I am concerned.

 

[webkit]

You can still buy a brand new phone for less than $100, there's something for everyone's budget.

You don't even have to resort to feature phones or "dumbphones" to get one under $100. BLU offers unlocked smartphones for under $100. Of course, there’s always the used market too.

 

[cylack]

What a joke. iPhone are already overpriced. Isn’t tech supposed to come down in price as time passes?

 

[webkit]

I wasn’t suggesting US customers should be charged more so we can get cheaper prices no. I would like to see US customers charged more though and admitted that twice already. Of course I’d be more than happy to see prices come down and of course now inflation is decreasing in comparison to 2022, I’d expect the retail price here to drop this year too. The problem with US prices remaining low is it is creating a false impression that everybody is fine with soaring costs. At least if prices were high in the US and sales dropped, this might be passed onto everybody else.

So, what do you think Apple should've done? As I already pointed out, they did lower prices (in USD) for iPhone 14 models in the UK to make up for some of the exchange rate issue. The USD launch price of the 128GB iPhone 14, for example, was LOWER in the UK than it was in the U.S. and LOWER than what the launch price of the 128GB iPhone 13 was the year before. It's not like Apple was trying to "protect its home market" (as you had suggested in another post) as they actually did LOWER USD prices in the UK yet didn't lower them in the U.S.

Apple doesn't control currency exchange rates (nor what governments charge in VAT or sales taxes) but I guess your solution was/is to have Apple raise U.S. prices so that UK customers pay that much less than U.S. customers? U.S. customers should be "paying" for some of the weakness in the GBP or Euro? Perhaps you also think U.S. customers and/or Apple should be "paying" for your government's VAT as well?

 

[DeepWebinar]

of course they’ll blame inflation or supply chain issues, but just like with prices at grocery stores, that’s all bs. prices are going up and companies are seeing record profits, it has nothing to do with supply chains. it’s greedy companies putting the squeeze on consumers because they can right now.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I don't remember ever getting a push notification for an ad? When did that start? I get push notifications for spam messages through imessage, but not ads.

There is a difference, imo, between google and apple. Google is like my wife. During an argument my wife will use my works against me.

Not clicking on the first app is nothing new. I never clicked on the first app since 2010, as there are many look alike apps. Surprised people don't do their due diligence. Point is ad or not, people should do their diligence.

Google I have long learned not to trust the first result.

Apple Store app sent me an ad on Valentine’s day. I realize it’s the store app but I never agreed to receive advertisements, there’s no setting I can find to turn it off, and if I disable all notifications well there goes things like shipping confirmations.

I promise the App Store used to give you the real result on top first time every time for the app you expected. Users are too trusting.

Also the only thing that tells you it’s an ad is a very slightly different color background and a tiny low contrast marking that says ad. There are many people who literally cannot see that and Apple knows it. And they are almost entirely older people who are the target of most predatory behavior for reasons just like this.

It’s a dark pattern, deceptive design. Apple knows what they are doing and they have decided that they don’t care. This is the slippery slope. They’ve gone against their own rules and morals enough times now that it gets easier and easier.

You clearly don’t like Google so I would think you would see what I am saying here. I agree Apple historically has been better. Perhaps they are still better. But the writing is on the wall, they have made it clear by actions that they are starting to become more like Google in specifically the ways you don’t like.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

So, what do you think Apple should've done? As I already pointed out, they did lower prices (in USD) for iPhone 14 models in the UK to make up for some of the exchange rate issue. The USD launch price of the 128GB iPhone 14, for example, was LOWER in the UK than it was in the U.S. and LOWER than what the launch price of the 128GB iPhone 13 was the year before. It's not like Apple was trying to "protect its home market" (as you had suggested in another post) as they actually did LOWER USD prices in the UK yet didn't lower them in the U.S.

Apple doesn't control currency exchange rates (nor what governments charge in VAT or sales taxes) but I guess your solution was/is to have Apple raise U.S. prices so that UK customers pay that much less than U.S. customers? U.S. customers should be "paying" for some of the weakness in the GBP or Euro? Perhaps you also think U.S. customers and/or Apple should be "paying" for your government's VAT as well?

What the US cost is is absolutely irrelevant as I’ve pointed out to you many many times. This will be the last time. Apple like any company competing in a competitive market will adjust pricing depend on what each market can take. If an iPhone is £15 cheaper in the UK compared to the US, so what? It doesn’t mean we feel grateful as the US cost means absolutely nothing to us. Companies will make different margins in different countries and you couldn’t expect the same margin in India for example that you’d make in Germany, Britain or France. All we’ve seen here is prices soaring ‘due to inflation’ but many companies are playing on that massively, especially in the manufacturing sector.

You mention again about me wanting US prices higher so UK prices are lower and my answer is the same as the last post where I clarified. Keep ignoring it, that’s fine. I think Apple should suck up more of the cost yes if they want us to keep buying their products at a reasonable price. We could just kick them out if trading here altogether and everyone would live happily ever after.

 

[HMI]

I’d love to see the math on how many people they believe it is acceptable to price out of the garden. 🤑

 

[I7guy]

I don’t generally share the same opinions as you do, but as fast as this goes, I think you’re 100% right. I’m sporting an iPhone XR bought at release, my latest iPad is an Air 4 64GB bought for $379 on sale at Best Buy and my most recent Mac is a launch 13” M1 MacBook Pro 8/512GB. I have money I can spend although I am much more careful to stay as debt free as is possible, so watching the prices of any Apple devices versus the value while Apple continues to left software quality slip or be artificially gimped to get users to purchase an iPad and a Mac has gotten really, really old. I am hoping that users will vote with their wallets this year. Tim needs a realignment that there is a line with general consumers that crossing has consequences. I am not overly optimistic and there are nuggets of value in the Apple lineup, but in general I feel like the squeeze just keeps tightening little by little. My philosophy is that I will upgrade only when I absolutely have to do so. There’s no more buying for buying’s sake at all. Just my 2¢.

Who is going to realign Tim Cook’s expectations? Following the earnings calls people are buying products and services. Prior iPhones work just fine. It’s an individual choice as to whether a new iPhone is needed. At least in the US one can even fine $0 android devices if one is tired of the apple “tax”. As far as software quality: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...14-launch-the-worst-ever-not-so-fast.2361027/

What a joke. iPhone are already overpriced. Isn’t tech supposed to come down in price as time passes?

Overpriced is a personal judgment. If tech was supposed to come down in price why are the cost of autos seemingly going up every year?

of course they’ll blame inflation or supply chain issues, but just like with prices at grocery stores, that’s all bs. prices are going up and companies are seeing record profits, it has nothing to do with supply chains. it’s greedy companies putting the squeeze on consumers because they can right now.

Really? You can get a $0 android phone to check email, Facebook and make phone calls. You can also get a Samsung fold for a few thousand. Is that Samsung putting the squeeze on consumers because they can? Because people require a fold for their day to day existence?

 

[I7guy]

Apple Store app sent me an ad on Valentine’s day. I realize it’s the store app but I never agreed to receive advertisements, there’s no setting I can find to turn it off, and if I disable all notifications well there goes things like shipping confirmations.

I promise the App Store used to give you the real result on top first time every time for the app you expected. Users are too trusting.

Also the only thing that tells you it’s an ad is a very slightly different color background and a tiny low contrast marking that says ad. There are many people who literally cannot see that and Apple knows it. And they are almost entirely older people who are the target of most predatory behavior for reasons just like this.

It’s a dark pattern, deceptive design. Apple knows what they are doing and they have decided that they don’t care. This is the slippery slope. They’ve gone against their own rules and morals enough times now that it gets easier and easier.

You clearly don’t like Google so I would think you would see what I am saying here. I agree Apple historically has been better. Perhaps they are still better. But the writing is on the wall, they have made it clear by actions that they are starting to become more like Google in specifically the ways you don’t like.

Is this an ad or an announcement? I dont know and I dont care. There is nothing sneaky going on here. There is no predatory behavior. There is no deception.

 

[subi257]

That reminds me of when 20% tariffs were slapped onto imported washing machines a few years ago. It was supposed to make American-made washing machines more affordable in comparison. What happened instead was the American manufacturers simply raised their prices to match the imports. They apparently figured it was more profitable to have increased margins at the new market prices rather than increased sales at lower-than-market prices.

Exactly.

 

[ric22]

There's been plenty of inflation worldwide, but the top of the range iPhone costs 3x as much in many territories as it did 8 years ago. That's massive.

 

[I7guy]

There's been plenty of inflation worldwide, but the top of the range iPhone costs 3x as much in many territories as it did 8 years ago. That's massive.

Didn’t the price of the phones go up with the iPhone X, four years ago?

 

[webkit]

What the US cost is is absolutely irrelevant as I’ve pointed out to you many many times. This will be the last time. Apple like any company competing in a competitive market will adjust pricing depend on what each market can take. If an iPhone is £15 cheaper in the UK compared to the US, so what? It doesn’t mean we feel grateful as the US cost means absolutely nothing to us. Companies will make different margins in different countries and you couldn’t expect the same margin in India for example that you’d make in Germany, Britain or France. All we’ve seen here is prices soaring ‘due to inflation’ but many companies are playing on that massively, especially in the manufacturing sector.

You mention again about me wanting US prices higher so UK prices are lower and my answer is the same as the last post where I clarified. Keep ignoring it, that’s fine. I think Apple should suck up more of the cost yes if they want us to keep buying their products at a reasonable price. We could just kick them out if trading here altogether and everyone would live happily ever after.

If it’s "absolutely irrelevant" than why have you and others commented and complained about where U.S. prices have been compared to overseas prices, suggested that Apple was raising prices overseas to "protect its home market", etc.

My point was simply that Apple had lowered prices in USD in the UK and Europe to try to make up for some of the currency exchange issues including offering phones for LESS than U.S. prices. Apple has NOT been as extra greedy in this situation as you and others have seemed to want to suggest.