While most of the leaks around the Apple iPhone 8 are about its design, not many are talking about the price tag that the new phone will carry. After all, the innovation costs money. Some of the earlier reports suggested a starting price of $999 but this new report claims an even higher price tag of $1,200.
Almost since its early days, the iPhone has sported a starting price of $649 with higher end models costing more. But none of the iPhones has touched the thousand-dollar mark. Maybe the tenth-anniversary phone would be special in the pricing department too.
The figure of $1,200 comes from John Gruber who predicted the price in his recent piece. If you aren’t aware, he had also accurately predicted the price of the Apple Watch gold version, which was indeed priced at $9,999 at launch. That’s the reason we can’t simply rule out his prediction and there is a high chance that the iPhone 8 could be priced at $1,200.
Let’s take a serious look at this. $1,500 as a starting price is probably way too high. But I think $1,200 is quite likely as the starting price, with the high-end model at $1,300 or $1,400.
According to Gruber, the idea behind the “Pro” or the “Edition” smartphone priced at a higher point is to include much better technology and components which, otherwise, would be impossible for a mass-produced phone. Apple sells millions of iPhones each quarter and the newer components can’t be made at the same pace, forcing the company to settle for the one that can be produced at a larger scale. Next-gen OLED displays are a perfect example in this case.
With a higher price tag, Apple will be able to reduce the demand for the iPhone 8, allowing it to include newer technologies and still maintain its profit margin from each unit sold. But why would Apple reduce its sales just to make a technologically advanced iPhone for its tenth anniversary?
Apple wouldn’t be launching the $1,200 anniversary edition iPhone alone this year, it will be accompanied by two “affordable” iPhones as well. The iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will be the direct successors of the 2016 iPhones and they should stay intact with their older pricing that starts at $649. With two affordable iPhones and a premium iPhone, Apple will have the best of both worlds.