Foldable iPhone pricing to be conservative
According to a report (translated source), Apple is taking a conservative approach with the pricing of its foldable flagship. This sentiment was also echoed in another report (translated source) prior.Apparently, though Apple’s phone will use one of the most advanced hinge mechanisms that the industry has ever seen, the company won’t go above and beyond, simply to keep the price palatable. The downside to this approach is the fact that it seems like the foldable iPhone won’t be able to eliminate the crease entirely, despite that being the one reason that Apple delayed a foldable of its own for years.
How much will Apple’s phone cost, then?
Early reports claimed that the foldable iPhone will cost around $2,400, not nearly as expensive as we’ve seen new Apple products go before: the Apple Vision Pro costs $3,499. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 — which starts at $2,000 — this is a very minor increase considering that it’s an Apple product.
These new reports, however, make it seem like the foldable iPhone might cost even less than that, despite Apple now being forced to buy memory modules at double the price. If Apple can keep the price of its foldable within $200 of the Galaxy Z Fold 8, the foldable iPhone might be a massive hit, following in the footsteps of the Galaxy Z TriFold, which sold out despite its $2,899 price tag.
The downside to this conservative pricing
It is almost wholly a good thing that the foldable iPhone might not cost you an arm and a leg. This will also help Apple cement itself more thoroughly in this market, as the company is already planning on making a flip-style foldable as well.There is still a downside, though. Apple scaled back its ambitions to keep the pricing down, but this has meant that other companies have already beaten the foldable iPhone in the one aspect that Apple had been super conscious about: the crease.
Samsung’s crease-free foldable display might debut on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 this year. If it does, then many customers might choose it over the foldable iPhone unless they’re deeply entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. I know I would, but then again Apple already lost me with the foldable iPhone.
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