Update 01/09 below. This article was originally published on January 07
iPhone 15 prices rise, not down, as widely expected, according to the latest leaks. In a move that is sure to shock cash-strapped Apple fans.
write for HowToSolveprolific anonymous leaker LeaksApplePro adds credence to claims last week that Apple “aggressively” the price of iPhone 15 models. The big difference is that the mugging was supposed to mean lower prices for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus for reverse disappointing sales. Instead, LeaksApplePro says Apple will simply make the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 UItra more inaccessible.
Flat-edged iPhone 15 Ultra concept based on leaks
“If sales of the iPhone 14 Plus have been so bad, what does Apple intend to do with the iPhone 15 Plus so that the same thing does not happen again? The answer is simple: nothing”, explains the leaker. “Apple will launch the iPhone 15 Plus alongside the other 3 models, and it will be unchanged from what is already expected. The price will be the same, the size will be the same, and so on. What Apple is going to do is induce more sales by raising the price of the iPhone 15 Pro.
If Correct, This Move Will Shock iPhone Fans Who Have Dealt With It Before strong international price increasesand LeaksApplePro thinks these changes should also impact US customers.
“This is something that was expected last year that Apple decided not to do, but rising production costs, inflation and declining profit margins are already starting to take their toll,” adds the lessor.
Update 01/09: LeaksApplePro has contacted me to warn that price increases for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra are unlikely to be limited to the United States. Explaining that previous increases in iPhone prices internationally are “due to currency fluctuations, not because Apple decided to simply make them more expensive in those countries.”
In short: Apple may not see the price increases it has made in Europe, Asia, South America and Australasia as price increases at all. This is despite the strong US dollar driving up prices for the iPhone 14 range in these countries by 10-20%. Therefore, a calculated price increase, as claimed by LeaksApplePro, would be in addition to price adjustments for currency fluctuations.
To put that into context, there was an average price increase of €170 ($182) for the iPhone 14 Pro models in Europe, so an expected increase of around €100 ($107) for the iPhone 15 Pro would leave the average European buyer (who waited two release cycles to upgrade), paying nearly $300 more for an iPhone 15 Pro than an iPhone 13 Pro. Even spread over the cost of a 2-year contract, it’s starting to bite.
Apple iPhone 15 Ultra should have dual front cameras – concept render
If correct, it would be a cutthroat way for Apple to deal with what many saw as the iPhone 14 Plus’ biggest problem: its value proposition. For just $100 more, iPhone 14 Pro buyers get better build materials, a better camera system, a bigger screen (with Dynamic Island), and faster performance. Spread over a carrier contract of 2 to 3 years, the additional expenses are negligible.
In many ways, it’s an Apple classic: solve the problem, but only in its terms. iPhone 14 Plus models were not overpriced, iPhone 14 Pro models were underpriced. It also aligns with the company’s broader strategy of making the Pro versions of its iPad, MacBook and Mac significantly more expensive than the standard models.
The result is pricing that would create a $300 price gap between the same size Pro and non-Pro models:
- iPhone 15 – from $799
- iPhone 15 Plus – from $899
- iPhone 15 Pro – from $1099
- iPhone 15 Ultra – from $1199
Given Apple’s ecosystem lockdown and rumors of telltale upgrades for the iPhone 15 Ultra (including a titanium frame and dual front cameras), the attractiveness of the range as a whole should hold. Plus, many would argue that only Apple could solve a sales problem by raising prices.
Well done, Apple. Good game.
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