UBS
UBS's analysis of iPhone pricing suggests Apple could make the iPhone X even more expensive.
- iPhone X isn't selling very well so the company might, counter intuitively, raise the price when it launches the new version of the flagship phone later this year, according to UBS.
- Once Apple establishes a price band, it doesn't leave it, sources tell analysts.
- Apple might also make its low-end SE model even cheaper, giving consumers a wider range of prices.
When Apple launched its flagship iPhone X priced at around $1,000, it tempted an inevitable question: Is it worth it? On the last earnings call, CEO Tim Cook reported iPhone sales declined by 1%. That led many to conclude that the answer was "no."
iPhone X might be a very good phone, but it's not $1,000 good, in other words.
In the last few weeks, $4 in the expectation that many consumers baulk at the four-figure price tag and think the cheaper iPhone 8 looks like a bargain by comparison.
But Apple may have a surprise in store. It could raise the price of the new 2018 flagship iPhone X to $1,100, according to an analysis of average sales prices (ASPs) by UBS analysts Steven Milunovich and Benjamin Wilson.
Their belief is that "once Apple establishes a price band it typically keeps it, consistent with what we've heard from former Apple employees," the UBS told clients in a note recently.
Over the last few years, Apple has successfully persuaded its customers to increase what they pay for phones from an average of somewhere around $600 to nearly $800.
BI Intelligence
- "Cascade top-of-the-line features down the price curve (screen size, camera, etc)"
- "Move premium customers up the price curve with moderately higher prices"
- "Establish higher price bands based on new features while tapping into lower-end markets with older devices"
So at the same time as offering an even-more-expensive iPhone X model, the price of the entry-level iPhone SE could fall as low as $300, they say.