Flagship smartphones don’t come cheap. Over the years, we’ve been accustomed to seeing most of them hovering around the $1,000 mark — with some of the best foldable phones reaching $1,800. And now it seems the price of some iPhones could be inching upward this fall.
In what would be a stunning change from the norm, a new report from Bloomberg claims that Apple intends to increase its overall revenue by raising the price of its upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models when they launch this fall.
If this does come to pass, it would mark the first price hike to the series since the 2019 introduction of the iPhone 11Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max — though you could technically look as far back as 2017’s iPhone X as the device that brought flagship pricing to where it is today. Nevertheless, Bloomberg’s unnamed source reveals that Apple’s planning to increase the price of the iPhone 15 Pro models despite the projected decline in the overall smartphone market. There's no additional details on how much the price could increase.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about rumored price increases to the iPhone 15 Pro series. Initially, it was tipped that the iPhone 15 Pro could see a $100 price hike, but most recently, we heard it could go up even higher to as much as $200. Whatever Apple ends up doing, there’s no denying the ripple effect it’ll cause throughout the industry.
Apple continues to set trends
All eyes are on Apple, regardless if the news is big or small, mainly because any change affects the competition. Apple is frequently known to establish trends that competitors often piggyback on. Remember how pinch zoom became a thing when Steve Jobs demoed it on the original iPhone’s capacitive touchscreen? Or perhaps, how competitors are quickly trying to respond with a comparable device to the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset?
When it comes to pricing, we all know how other companies are quick to follow suit. The iPhone X in 2017 is a perfect example of this, since it was the first time we saw a mainstream flagship phone hit $1,000. Soon after, many rival smartphones began to stay established at the same price point.
Could push pricing on everything else
Consumers have a lot of options for buying smartphones. The beauty in all of this is that there’s a model for every budget. But if the iPhone 15 Pro series does end up getting a price hike, we could inadvertently see increased prices to everything else.
The best foldable phones are already accompanied with prices starting at $1,799, which phone makers justify by citing the engineering challenges behind making foldable models. On the other end of the spectrum, budget and mid-range smartphones could also see price increases if Apple moves forward with its plan. Apple already has a fantastic budget option with the iPhone SE (3rd Gen) at $429, while its current iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus round out its premium offerings. This wouldn’t be a total shock, especially given supply chain issues everywhere and the inflation with current market conditions. We’re hoping that things stay calm for the foreseeable future, but don’t be shocked by a sudden change in how much you're paying for iPhones specifically and smartphones in general.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro models increase price outlook
Bloomberg’s report indicates that Apple is asking about 85 million units of the iPhone 15 to be produced by its suppliers — a figure that’s similar to last year’s ask. Rumors and leaks point to all iPhone 15 models getting USB-C ports and Dynamic Islands, but for the iPhone 15 Pro lineup specifically, it looks like they’ll be getting new camera sensors, larger batteries, and perhaps ‘action buttons’ similar to the Apple Watch. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is rumored to be getting a new periscope camera that could potentially increase the telephoto camera to a 6x zoom.
Hopefully these new additions are more than enough to warrant the price increases Apple is reportedly giving them when they’re introduced sometime this fall. It’ll be interesting to see how the competition responds to all of this, especially when Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event is slated for later this week. Even though it won’t impact Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5, it could affect all the other phones introduced after Apple’s new iPhones this fall.
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