Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted to investors in a recent earnings call that the iPhone may add yet another high-performance upgrade to the iPhone which will provide users with even higher performance, a larger high-resolution mini LED screen, and even more bountiful storage options.
A rumored future iPhone Pro ULTRA may join the entry-level iPhone, iPhone Pro, and iPhone Pro Max when the next-gen handset is announced in 2024. But if it does, you can bet it won’t be cheap.
Image Credit – Apple
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman broke the news in his latest Power On Newsletter, where he regaled readers with Cook’s “off the cuff” remarks about how the Apple faithful are willing to spend even more on Apple’s flagship mobile device.
“I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category,” Cook is reported to have said on the call.
Gurman reported that Cook’s view is that an iPhone price increase would be no problem and that mobile phones are so integral to people’s lives that a price increase would be a little problem for those looking for higher performance in a mobile device that is really more computer than a phone.
“Consumers now use the device to make payments, control smart home devices, manage their health, and store banking data,” Cook added.
Image Credit – Apple
Gurman went on to write that according to his sources, Apple has internally discussed adding a fourth model to the smartphone lineup, with plans to distinguish their pro models even further in order to justify an even higher starting price.
Currently, the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1099, Cook’s belief that the ceiling for a smartphone price hasn’t been reached yet, especially with even more powerful features is very telling.
“he made a good argument for why even more upscale iPhones could make sense,” Gurman added, “especially if they deliver new features.”
Gurman went on to say that when the iPhone 15 arrives later in 2023, it’ll showcase several new features including a pericope lens for optical zooming. This will certainly get pros to want to plunk down the company credit card, even if the price goes up.
Image Credit: Apple
And that’s really what it comes down to, giving iPhone users an excuse to pay more for their favorite status symbol. New features will do just that and will pave the way toward an iPhone Ultra in 2024.
But what could be the killer app for an iPhone Ultra? Gurman doesn’t think that Apple will rebrand the iPhone Pro Max in order to justify raising the price tag.
He believes that Apple will go the extra mile to make the Ultra a next-level handset. To that end, Gurman postulates that since Apple hasn’t released an iPhone with a foldable screen yet, like Samsung and several other phone manufacturers, the company could be working on just that.
“If Apple were to sell a foldable iPhone, the price would clearly be higher than that of its current models,” Gurman surmises. “Such a device would require far more advanced technology for batteries, displays, and chips.”
Gurman then states that Samsung’s priciest foldable — the Z Fold4 — has an MSRP of $2,160. That sounds like the kind of coin that Cook expects Apple customers to be willing to part with come 2024.
[source: Power On, Bloomberg]
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