Something tells me the iPhone X is probably a limited 10th Anniversary edition, just like they did with the gold Apple Watch priced at $10,000. I could be wrong, though. The other models might be cheaper versions of the X. But by 2018, next year, what we see in iPhone X will then become standardized, if it ever comes to that. But if it's not a limited edition, then this may make the X the most expensive high end device from Apple in a maturing market.
It's the feature creep that's causing the prices to go up but also the materials that go into the design. People have to ask themselves exactly what are they paying for. Is it the internals they're paying for or the phone material? It's interesting to note how Apple devices are usually high on storage but low on RAM while keeping premium prices high, while on Android phones they cost a bit less but with specs that are relative to today's standards.
Correct, this is why i'm mostly talking about the iPhone 8 and not the X in regards to how the pricing should be going down on these phones, not up.
for example
1 Materials - The iPhone materials haven't changed since the 6 (assuming the iPhone 8 doesn't surprise us with a change). this means that manufacturing technologies and economies of scale should be bringing the price down on the manufacturing of the shell.
2 Camera Sensors - The Camera sensors in the iPhone's (especially the 4.7" model) hasn't changed significantly over the years. Most of the changes we're seeing now are software and ISP. the changes we are seeing to cameras are minor and iterative. this should help drive prices down as well, since there's no significant re-design going on
3 Memory (RAM) - If the RAM isn't changing, than we're still paying the same today for 2gb of RAM that we paid 2 years ago for 2gb of RAM. again, this doesn't jive with the way the market works. same as above, economies of scale and the fact that these are iterative improvements to ram should see RAM prices drop (and this is significant since for everyone else, RAM prices do drop, just look at the Android market for mobile or desktop market for computers. RAM prices always decrease over time within the same RAM version)
4 Display - the iPhone display also hasn't seen fundamental changes. the same overall resolutions with some minor improvements. Again, all the rest of the world seems to be able to provide displays that are constantly getting denser, brighter and more colourful for cheaper. it's only when a new technology is implemented that we tend to see display pricing go up. if the iPhone 8 delivers the same LCD panel as the previous 2-3 iterations, than the same as above applies, Economies of scale and manufacturing improvements
5 Storage - Rinse and repeat the above points
6 Additional Features - This is where they need to deliver in order to justify the same price IMHO for the iPhone 8 as the 7. if they can deliver some tentpole that offers compelling reason to upgrade, than ok, the iphone 8 is still "flagship" and maybe justifies the current pricing. But without significant additional feature, the iPhone 8 should be cheaper than the the iPhone 7.
Apple will be getting significant cost savings out of re-doing the same device essentially for the 4th iteration. To not somehow pass that to the consumer, feels like Apple is definitely expecting to use the iPhone 8 to help maximize profits, even by not delivering a significant upgrade. the iPhone 7 was close enough to the iPhone 6s, that I felt like it was already pushing too hard, but to do it for another time just seems cheap.
this is why I believe that Apple should be dropping the price of the iPhone 8. Make the iPhone lineup more like the iPad's current lineup. you have a "cheaper" reasonable option that hits 80% use case, and the expensive flagship high end for the rest who will spend the money.