Series: Sense of iPhones
Part 2 of 3
Apple announced the iPhone X with a starting price of $999 one year ago today.
In so doing, the richest publicly owned U.S. company created a conundrum with the groundbreaking phone it designed for the iPhone marque’s second generation.
On one hand, the iPhone X was branded as starting a rush of thousand-dollar flagship phones from the large manufacturers.
On the other hand, its increased price brought more revenue to Apple at a time when iPhone sales have flattened overall. Each phone, on average, brought in more money.
Today, Apple is expected to announce three phones with improved iPhone X technology.
In particular, all three would use the Face ID system by which a three-dimensional camera and processors scan a user’s face to unlock the phone securely. No fingerprint or passcode is required during regular use, and no competitor has such an advanced 3D face-scanning feature.
The three expected iPhone X-inspired phones are an update of the 5.8-inch OLED-screen original and a 6.5-inch OLED sibling, joined by a lower-cost model with a conventional 6.1-inch LCD screen.
Using names suggested by the first article in this series, “New iPhone Names: What Makes Sense,” they would be the iPhone, iPhone L and iPhone Plus.
The following starting prices would strike a balance between the need both for strong reputation and income, when models and prices are announced today:
• iPhone Plus, $1,099.
• iPhone, $949.
• iPhone L, $799.
• iPhone 8 Plus, $669.
• iPhone 8, $549.
• iPhone 7 Plus, $549.
• iPhone 7, $449.
• iPhone SE, $349.
The models and starting prices followed since September 2017 are:
• iPhone X, $999.
• iPhone 8 Plus, $799.
• iPhone 8, $699.
• iPhone 7 Plus, $669.
• iPhone 7, $549.
• iPhone 6s Plus, $549.
• iPhone 6s, $449.
• iPhone SE, $349.