By now we are pretty much sure that you would be familiar with all the jokes related to the prices of iPhones latest models, which of course seem to be an ever increasing concern of die hard Apple fans as well. Every year in September millions across the globe wait for the company to announce some fancy features power packed in the latest iPhones but their excitement soon gets startled when the price gets announced. Yes, we are going to talk about 64 GB iPhone for $1000 and that too in 2019 - exorbitant, right?
The first major shock of price tag for Apple fans came in the form of iPhone X. Although it still is one of the most popular iPhones of all time and customers went crazy for the major leap in design display and camera, yet this is where Apple also got fortunate to start the trend of $1000 iPhone.
But wait, do you know that the current price tag of latest iPhones (XS in 2018 or Pro in 2019) for that matter go entirely opposite to what Steve Jobs aimed of Apple to be? Yes, the mastermind behind Apple’s enormous success believed in the idea of an iPhone that should cost less and do more, which later also became Apple’s own tagline for its products throughout the years.
Now some of you might be raging with a big yes because of course the price tag has been a big hurdle for many of the customers to buy the latest iPhones but before you get to a conclusion that Apple just makes money based on their brand value we have actually figured out something that actually justifies Apple’s $999 price tag these days according to inflation and technological advancements.
To explain the point in a better way, we are going to bridge the gap between the iPhone 5s which started at almost $199 to the flagship of 2019 iPhone 11 Pro that is currently on pre-order for $999. Back in the days of 2012 when iPhone 5s first launched, while Apple did set a very low price tag, people were still pretty much used to buying phones on a two year contract with their carrier. The monthly charges of such contract used to end up at $25-30 a month and since millions of people agreed to choose the installment option, Apple used to end up getting $649 at the end of contract. So, this eliminates the first assumption that that there is an $800 gap between both the flagship smartphones in all these years, it actually turns out to be only $300.
But still as we agree that $300 too is a lot of money, the increment has occurred due to all the innovative technology that Apple has brought to its latest iPhones over the years. In this $300 amount, your new iPhone would have Super Retina OLED display, triple camera system with varying lenses and even glass finish for wireless charging. The hardware on the other hand like always is way ahead of other competitors in the market and since Apple prefers its own quality standards, the price to make them all a reality obviously had to high.
As soon as iPhone 7 came into the market, there price tag actually turned $649 for paying upfront which a lot of people preferred because the technology in smartphones was changing every year and most of them still want to cope up with it from time to time. Now when they go out to pay $999 for a 64 GB iPhone, it definitely feels like a burden on their pocket.
However, Apple did understand the concern of their fans and introduced iPhone XR with flagship features (and a bit compromised display) at $750. This year again the iPhone 11 starts at $700 (a sequel that seems very familiar to iPhone XR). Apple is also currently working on Trade-In Program which would let you trade your old iPhone with a new one just on monthly installments.
To have a look at how prices skyrocketed over the years, here is a graph.
Read next: Apple iPhone Sales dropped below 50% showing a Great Decline
The first major shock of price tag for Apple fans came in the form of iPhone X. Although it still is one of the most popular iPhones of all time and customers went crazy for the major leap in design display and camera, yet this is where Apple also got fortunate to start the trend of $1000 iPhone.
But wait, do you know that the current price tag of latest iPhones (XS in 2018 or Pro in 2019) for that matter go entirely opposite to what Steve Jobs aimed of Apple to be? Yes, the mastermind behind Apple’s enormous success believed in the idea of an iPhone that should cost less and do more, which later also became Apple’s own tagline for its products throughout the years.
Now some of you might be raging with a big yes because of course the price tag has been a big hurdle for many of the customers to buy the latest iPhones but before you get to a conclusion that Apple just makes money based on their brand value we have actually figured out something that actually justifies Apple’s $999 price tag these days according to inflation and technological advancements.
To explain the point in a better way, we are going to bridge the gap between the iPhone 5s which started at almost $199 to the flagship of 2019 iPhone 11 Pro that is currently on pre-order for $999. Back in the days of 2012 when iPhone 5s first launched, while Apple did set a very low price tag, people were still pretty much used to buying phones on a two year contract with their carrier. The monthly charges of such contract used to end up at $25-30 a month and since millions of people agreed to choose the installment option, Apple used to end up getting $649 at the end of contract. So, this eliminates the first assumption that that there is an $800 gap between both the flagship smartphones in all these years, it actually turns out to be only $300.
But still as we agree that $300 too is a lot of money, the increment has occurred due to all the innovative technology that Apple has brought to its latest iPhones over the years. In this $300 amount, your new iPhone would have Super Retina OLED display, triple camera system with varying lenses and even glass finish for wireless charging. The hardware on the other hand like always is way ahead of other competitors in the market and since Apple prefers its own quality standards, the price to make them all a reality obviously had to high.
As soon as iPhone 7 came into the market, there price tag actually turned $649 for paying upfront which a lot of people preferred because the technology in smartphones was changing every year and most of them still want to cope up with it from time to time. Now when they go out to pay $999 for a 64 GB iPhone, it definitely feels like a burden on their pocket.
However, Apple did understand the concern of their fans and introduced iPhone XR with flagship features (and a bit compromised display) at $750. This year again the iPhone 11 starts at $700 (a sequel that seems very familiar to iPhone XR). Apple is also currently working on Trade-In Program which would let you trade your old iPhone with a new one just on monthly installments.
To have a look at how prices skyrocketed over the years, here is a graph.
Read next: Apple iPhone Sales dropped below 50% showing a Great Decline
