14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s iPhone X is the most expensive model released so far, with the top version with 256GB storage available for $1,149, and Cupertino appears to be well aware that the high price could be a reason why some customers are holding on to their purchase.
This is why the company could launch a new more affordable iPhone X display next year that would come with a different display versus the current model.
Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang said in a note to investors that Apple could address the price issue by replacing the OLED display on the iPhone X with LCD on a future model, thus achieving a substantial price cut.
In-depth analysis estimating the costs of the iPhone X revealed that the display assembly is the most expensive part of the anniversary iPhone, and it’s believed it costs at least twice more than an LCD panel.
It won’t cost more than $749
The LCD iPhone launching next year could be very similar in terms of design with the iPhone X, though it’s not exactly clear if the same feature lineup would be maintained. Apple has so far been a master of optimizing LCD displays for top performance, and the company should have no problem to do it once again on another model in 2018.
“We believe Apple might bring down the cost of an iPhone X by using an LCD screen next year making the iPhone 8S a more differentiated product from the iPhone 7 and 8,” Zhang explained.
KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also released a similar forecast recently, claiming that the 2018 iPhone lineup could comprise a total of three different models, two of which would feature an OLED screen, while the third one would stick with LCD in an attempt to reduce the price.
Kuo estimated that the LCD iPhone could be sold for approximately $649 to $749, despite features like 3D sensing cameras for Face ID still being offered.