Apple starts getting customers used to the idea of US$2,000 iPhones
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iPhones are on display as people attend Apple's event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, on Sept 9.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SAN FRANCISCO - When Apple launched the iPhone X in 2017, the company did more than usher in facial recognition and a sleek edge-to-edge screen. It also helped establish a new category: the US$1,000 (S$1,300) smartphone.
In the eight years since, that price point has barely budged.
Despite inflation and a steady stream of technological upgrades, the iPhone 17 Pro
Ahead of this week’s iPhone 17 debut, some analysts predicted hefty price hikes – especially with President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports
Yet Apple’s changes were measured. The Pro models did climb from US$999 to US$1,099, but Apple softened the blow by doubling the base amount of storage to 256 gigabytes.
The new iPhone Air, replacing the iPhone 16 Plus, rose by US$100 as well, to US$999. In Singapore, the iPhone Air is priced from $1,599.
After consumers braced themselves for tariff-fuelled sticker shock – with some even rushing to stores earlier in 2025 to avoid possible levies – the adjustments were modest.
That restraint will not last forever.
Apple is not likely to absorb tariff costs indefinitely, and shifting iPhone production from China and India will not eliminate the problem of rising costs. The company has already started signalling what comes next: the era of the US$2,000 iPhone.
The 2025 iPhone 17 Pro Max introduces a two-terabyte storage option, priced at US$1,999. It marks the first time that an iPhone has reached that nearly US$2,000 threshold.
And Apple would not set that price unless it believed a meaningful slice of its customer base is willing to pay it.
The trajectory is clear.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone is slated to arrive in 2026 with features rivalling those of Samsung Electronics and Alphabet’s Google. Those models now sell for US$1,799 to US$2,419 depending on the configuration.
Given that the single-screen iPhone Air costs US$999 and will share many components with the future foldable, that model will likely be at least twice as much – before storage upgrades, cases and accessories push the price higher.
Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook has already told Wall Street that he believes iPhone customers are prepared to open their wallets.
“People are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category,” Mr Cook said on a 2023 earnings call, noting that the iPhone has become “integral” to people’s lives.
Consumers now use the device to make payments, control smart-home appliances, manage their health and store banking data, he said.
Looking further out, Apple is already developing a 20-year anniversary “iPhone 20”, an overhaul expected to be as radical as the iPhone X was in its day.
Just as that model established the US$1,000 standard, the iPhone 20 could set the stage for a far pricier new normal. BLOOMBERG
