The price of the iPhone 14 could on average be going up, and it's likely the iPhone 14 Pro's fault. But Apple could be making the increase worth it with more default storage.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a new tweet that the average selling price of the whole iPhone 14 range could increase by about 15% over that of the iPhone 13. He discusses this in light of it meaning higher profits for one of Apple's main manufacturing partners, but a higher price would have a big impact on iPhone-buying customers too.
Importantly, Kuo says this increase will be mostly because of the iPhone 14 Pro expected to be the best selling mode out of the iPhone 14 range. Thankfully, Kuo isn't suggesting there'll be a 15% price increase for all models.
Kuo makes no mention of a specific price for these more expensive iPhone 14 models though. In earlier rumors, we've heard mention of a $100 increase for the iPhone 14 Pro (from $999 to $1,099) and Pro Max (from $1,099 to $1,199), while the iPhone 14 regular will reportedly stay at the established $799 price point. A brand new model, the iPhone 14 Max, is assumed to sell for $899, between the vanilla iPhone 14 and the 14 Pro.
Another analyst also recently corroborated the news of a price increase and it's looking ever more likely that the iPhone 14 Pro will get a $100 price hike.
A price increase might sting a little for prospective buyers, but there's some good news to take the bitter taste away.
iPhone 14 Pro tipped for a storage increase
If Apple does increase the iPhone 14 Pro's base price, one way it could avoid annoyed customers is to give more in return, for example extra base storage. This is something that analysis firm Trendforce (via MacRumors) has suggested in a forecast of the iPhone 14 series specs.
All iPhone 13 series come with 128GB storage by default, with 256GB and 512GB options available on all models and a 1TB option on offer for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. While starting at 256GB on the Pro models would make for a nice even three storage options each on both regular and Pro iPhones, it feels unlikely to us.
Apple's been slow to adapt to the increasing storage needs of its users in the past. It only stopped selling 64GB flagship iPhones with the iPhone 13, and on the iPhone 12 Pro in the case of the Pro models, so adopting 256GB of storage for the base iphne 14 models maybe a little too early, going by Cupertino's previous actions. Also, giving users more storage by default would mean fewer users wanting to upgrade their storage when buying the phone, which could cost Apple money overall.
Even if Apple sticks with 128GB base storage, plenty of other upgrades are rumored for the iPhone 14 Pro models. It's said to have a new faster A16 chipset (that the regular iPhone 14 supposedly won't get), pill-and-punch-hole cutouts for Face ID and the selfie camera, a 48MP main camera, and an always-on display function among its upgrades. If all these rumors turn out to be true, this will be the biggest performance gap between regular and Pro iPhones since Apple introduced the Pro iPhone line in 2019.
With September just around the corner, we may see the new iPhone within a matter of weeks. Stay up to date with our iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro rumor hubs so you don't miss any new nuggets of information as we approach the likely launch period.
Next: New report reveals Apple plans to order 90 million iPhone 14 units for launch.
