Tim Cook on iPhone Prices: 'We Want to Serve Everyone'

[mspman]

What really surprises me from a business perspective is that the iPhone is really struggling in Asia, especially China, where there's a lot more mature competition at lower prices. With this pricing strategy, I don't see how they plan to make any inroads in Asia at all, and they're also eliminating the European market for the iPhone SE, which was very strong, especially in cities like Paris and Milan. If they had kept pricing the same as the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and upgraded the SE, then I'd give them more credit but I don't see how this three-pronged approach with the cheapest option being $750 is going to help growth internationally - and that's what they need with the US market being so saturated with phones. Personally, I'm very happy with my 8 Plus and I'll hang onto it for a while.

 

[iapplelove]

Is it the visual of the price tag? The illision of getting a $200 phone?

Like I said, I upgraded every year thus paying in full. Same with my X last year, so obviously the price tag didn’t matter.

Not sure why you’re baiting lol.. most people I hear from would much rather go back to the old system of upgrading.

 

[macfacts]

Always wanted to ask this. When they do the battery replacement, do they keep the phone IP67 compliant? Do they apply enough glue? Seal it properly?

Even if the apple tech say it is like new, there is no way for you to test it cause water damage is not covered under warranty.

 

[nottimcook]

What an arrogant money grabbing ******!!

The ONLY thing Cook serves are his pay cheque and share holders and share value, as that also directly turns into his pay cheque..

If Apple actually cared about customers it would include a fast charger and headphone adapter in the box of a £1100 Plus device. But no...

Apples pricing structure is now wwaaayyyy beyond their ability to defend with a straight face anymore...

Well technically it's his job to return value back to shareholders... testing the limits of how much users will pay for iOS seems like a valid way to do that. If you feel it's too expensive, vote with your dollars and buy something else.

 

[balaplus]

Steve Jobs once famously said "People don't know what they want until we show them"
Tim has a new mantra - "People don't know what they can pay...until we make them"

 

[kazmac]

Uh huh. Heard something like that last year. Tim, G.T.F.O.

I cannot wait to hear the price based doublespeak when the Macs are updated. /s

 

[a m u n]

Ok. Something is not right.

£1099 price in the UK - if you pay cash that means £45 / month. After 24 months you can sell the phone with 40-50% of the price, that means you pay £22.5 / month. Come on!

 

[sunwukong]

We Want To Serve Everyone

My first thought was, "Is this like that old 'To Serve Man' episode on Twilight Zone?

 

[98winds]

Adding new tech that mostly only geeks and fans are interested in... for the general public, looking at the price... ouch!!!

We're curious, is it the year Apple hit the wall...

 

[IG88]

Looking to upgrade my 6 to an 8 with these new prices, and 30 months from now, I'll get next year's iPhone 11 as the upgrade.

That's a huge upgrade. My 6 felt slow from day 1. The 6s was night & day. I'm very happy with the 8+.

Good call. You'll like the 8 and your wallet will like it too.

 

[jackietreeh0rn]

The iPrices aren't welcome even in the first world, eh?

 

[frocco]

How else can Apple get to 2 Trillion.... We know where Tim is looking to serve.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

Why do we need anything larger than 64gb since Tim is going to store all our junk in the cloud?

You can buy internal storage or you can buy iCloud space. I don't care either way. -Tim

 

[Regbial]

This mentality is baffling. The vast majority of users aren't even using 64GB. It's 2018, internal storage is all but irrelevant.

Thank you. I thought I entered the Twilight Zone for a second... Suddenly stepped 15 years into the future...

 

[curtvaughan]

The prices are about what they’ve always been for computing hardware over the years, and like all hardware, today’s hardware is a bargain. Here are some examples:

Late 1980s (I used 1990 to calculate today’s dollars) 4 GB desktop RAM, $700, about $1,300 in today’s dollars.
1994 - Motorola StarTAC introduced at $1,000, about $1,700 in today’s dollars and it was popular, I had one.
Late 1990s early 2000s $1,000 for a solid Pentium desktop, $2,000 for a nice one and $2,500 for a ‘stuffed’ case (no exotic water/nitrogen, etc). Current prices aren’t that much different.

So if you think $1,000 to $1,400 is sky high, I’ll trade you a more expensive (in today’s dollars) StarTAC for it. I think I still have it somewhere.

Cheers, Azy

My first mobile phone was a StarTAC which I purchased new in 1999. By that time it was around $200 as the "bleeding edge" of 1994 was middling in both cost and performance by 1999. Moore's law was accelerating at a really perceivable exponential rate by the late 90s, which began to be coined as a "tech boom". This drastically affected bang per buck as well as customer demand for the products, particularly with commensurate network backbone improvements during that time. By the late 90s and into the 21st century, computers and associated technology drastically decreased in price for non-bleeding edge products.

 

[mithion]

They really should've dropped the price of the XS to $899 or $850. People are just gonna hold on to their phones longer. The new phones don't really offer anything truly compelling and my iPhone 7 Plus is still going strong. And not only are the new features kinda meh to me, I'd be loosing touch ID which is a big deal in my opinion. I don't care that face ID is more secure, I like being able to unlock my phone without looking at it and Apple pay is just smoother with touch ID.

 

[Cartoonkid]

What a lie. We want to make money. If you wanted to serve everyone, you would keep the X at a cheaper price and not several year old technology.
How about letting me use my Apple watch with any phone I want.
How about letting me by default what ever browser, maps or voice assistant that I want.
How about putting the same camera sensor in all the new phones rather than trying to up sell?

He said they WANT to serve everybody. Not that they will necessarily achieve that goal.

 

[31 Flavas]

Like I said, I upgraded every year thus paying in full. Same with my X last year, so obviously the price tag didn’t matter.

Not sure why you’re baiting lol.. most people I hear from would much rather go back to the old system of upgrading.

It’s a flat question - you’re purporting to speak for most people. What was the advantage to having all the details of the arrangement hidden?

att, vzw, sprint, etc were under no obligation to follow t-mobile.

 

[QCassidy352]

Honestly, the price of a phone means very little anymore. Most networks offer deals anyway, and most people just pay for the phone monthly. They don't even own it, they just rent it. So rather they are paying 20-30$ for the XR or 40-50$ for the XS, it doesn't change much.

Their installment plans are designed to trick people who don’t understand money into THINKING price doesn’t matter. just because there’s less sticker shock doesn’t make the price increase any less real.

 

[kaneda]

If iphone keeps getting more expensive. Will people stop upgrading every year?

 

[richpjr]

I find it ironic that Apple portrays themselves as this socially progressive company that cares about people and issues while at the same time acting as one of the most capitalist companies in history. I don't blame them for the that as people can choose to buy their products or not, but it does come across as a bit hypocritical.

 

[sunwukong]

It may be one of the main points of a company, but it's not why most people are interested in Apple.

And that certainly is not why Woz and Jobs started the company, and what made it great, made it into what Apple is, or was.

 

[Ryth]

Everyday consumer is more price sensitive than you think. Even more so if they're outside the US and not particularly 'passionate' about Apple but just like an iPhone that works. Its why Android is so successful. People want iPhone Xs/Max but only at the right price otherwise they'll get something cheaper or something else entirely.

Right...which will be the Xr. The Xr is priced in a good place. It's $50 more then the iPhone 8 and $50 less then the iPhone 8Plus and the same size & now top/bottom bezels.

Personally, I like how the XsMax is just the bigger screen/bigger battery and that's it vs the Xs. That means for the top models you are just picking 'size preference'.

I'm torn right now between the Xr and Xs...and most likely will go with the Xr because I don't take that many photos & don't care about face ID or the OLED either & possible burn in.

 

[dual64bit]

I've never seen so many people complain about everything. For some the attachment to their iPhone not unlike their attachment to put food in their belly. Look at how much people spend on food. Nobody said you have to upgrade, your "old" iPhone may suit you just fine to keep using it. Why fault Apple for being a business? Last time I checked they are not registered as a non-profit.

 

[AlexJoda]

Apple is slowly (or rapidly) increasing the prices. I feel like this is the highest I can and want to afford.

Two years ago, the iPhone 7 started at 699€ here in Germany. That was their best phone (unless you liked the Plus size model). Now you get the BUDGET XR version starting at 849€. That is a freaking increase of 20% in two years.

Listen, if they want to increase prices - that is their business. But this BS PR speech of tim feels like they are even making fun of their customers.

This is not the case if you compare the more reasonable models. The iPhone 7 128 GB costs in Germany at launch 2016 869€. The XR costs with 128 GB 909€. That is 40€ difference and about 5% increase for 2 years of inflation and a much better product....(besides: the iPhone 7 32 GB had a starting price of 759€ in 2016 and not 699€...)