There are new shiny iPhones, so Apple is making you pay more for older models
Key Points:
- Apple introduced the iPhone 18 and its first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, while simultaneously raising prices of existing iPhone models by $100, with new starting prices ranging from $699 to $1,099.
- Price increases are more significant in some international markets, such as India, where prices have risen by approximately 20.5%, and Apple has discontinued the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models.
- This pricing strategy marks a departure from Apple's usual approach of lowering prices on older models when new ones are released, driven largely by a global shortage of memory and storage chips.
- Former CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that rising component costs are impacting Apple's ability to absorb expenses, leading to recent price hikes across Mac and iPad products as well.
- Apple may also be responding to competitive pressures from rivals and leveraging its Upgrade program to ease the financial impact on consumers amid these price increases.