14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s new iPhones have set new records in terms of how much customers are being asked for pay for them, with the iPhone XS Max in particular topping at no less than $1,449.
While the Cupertino-based tech giant has been heavily criticized for increasing iPhone prices with every new generation, Apple CEO Tim Cook says this just the result of the device bundling more latest-generation technology.
In an interview on Good Morning America, Cook addresses the iPhone XS pricing dispute, explaining that innovation doesn’t come cheap on new smartphones.
“We want to make an iPhone for everyone. That’s always been our objective, and we’ve got several iPhones in the line that go down to materially lower [prices]. But if you look at this phone, it […] has an unbelievable camera in it, and it has the smallest and most powerful chip ever in a smartphone,” the Apple CEO explained.
All you need is an iPhone
Cook went on to emphasize that the iPhone has grown to become not just a typical smartphone, but one that replaces several devices, so bundling so much functionality obviously comes with a higher cost.
“Your phone has replaced your digital camera [and] your video camera. It’s replaced your music player. It’s replaced your video player. It’s replaced all of these different devices. So arguably the product is really important and we’ve found that people want to have the most innovative product available – and it’s not cheap to do that,” Cook said.
The high price, however, could be one major drawback for new iPhone buyers, and it’s believed that the device is currently experiencing lackluster demand during the pre-order program.
Shipments of the new models would begin on Friday, while the iPhone XR, which is the most affordable model in the entire lineup, will hit the shelves in October. Pricing for the iPhone XR will start at $749 in the United States.