smartphones (Apple still sells the iPhone 7 for
$449 on its website - $49 more than the new
Google Pixel 3A), the company needs to bite
the bullet and introduce a new smartphone
under the $500 price point, or it’s market share
could plummet.APPLE DROPPING
PRICES INTERNATIONALLY
What’s interesting to note, however, is that Tim
Cook has already hinted plans to lower the
cost of the iPhone in some markets to boost
falling sales. After Apple profits fell 15% in
the last financial quarter due to an economic
slowdown in China and the iPhone battery
scandal, Cook told investors that the strong
dollar makes products more expensive in
international markets. The iPhone XS costs $
in the United States and £999 in the United
Kingdom, for example, although the actual
exchange rate of $999 would price the phone at
£783. The iPhone XR, priced at $749, is £749 in
the United Kingdom, despite the exchange rate
pricing the XR at £587 in the United Kingdom, a
£162 markup from Apple.
Of course, there are various factors that
contribute to iPhone pricing, with a
spokesperson in 2016 telling journalists
that the company “suggests product prices
internationally on the basis of several factors,
including currency exchange rates, local
import laws, business practices, taxes, and
the cost of doing business. These factors vary
from region to region and over time, such that
international prices are not always comparable
to US suggested retail prices,” but now Tim Cook
has appeared to backtrack. In January, he said
Image: Drew Angerer