There's Ominous News About iPhone 14 Pricing
The anticipation for Apple's next generation of gadgets is reaching a fever pitch, which means it should come as no surprise the rumor mill is churning at a pretty rapid pace. Recently, popular leaker and regular long-form 9to5mac contributor Max Weinbach took to Twitter to predict an Apple event on September 6, followed by the official sale of the iPhone 14 on September 16. Whether or not these claims hold merit is anyone's guess, but Weinbach has a reasonably strong track record given that 69% of his claims have turned out to be true, according to AppleTrack.
fwiw I heard September 6th event and iPhone's on sale on the 16th
not 100% sure, but around there seems right. https://t.co/X2vbu2XyiC
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) August 7, 2022
Granted, the iPhone 14 itself is looking to be a hot commodity in Q4 2022, and though none of its predicted features have technically been confirmed by Apple, there's plenty of reason to expect that there will be four different versions: the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, accompanied by the larger iPhone 14 Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max. These predictions go all the way back to late 2021. It's also possible that the iPhone 14 and its variants will be accompanied by a next-gen version of the iPhone SE – that is, according to industry analyst and iPhone clairvoyant Ming-Chi Kuo. Two of Kuo's other recent predictions include Apple's highly-anticipated A16 chip being reserved only for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, and a potential switch from the standard Lightning charger cables to USB-C cables in future AirPods and iPhone models.
Expect a 15% average price increase on the iPhone 14, says this analyst
Ming-Chi Kuo offered yet another recent prediction that may disappoint those awaiting the next iPhone. The analyst tweeted in response to a quarterly revenue projection from Foxconn, saying, "Hon Hai/Foxconn is one of the winners of the increased ASP of iPhone 14 series. I estimated iPhone 14 series ASP would increase by about 15% (vs. iPhone 13 series ASP) to $1,000-1,050 (USD) due to two iPhone 14 Pro's price hikes & higher shipment proportion."
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Hon Hai/Foxconn is one of the winners of the increased ASP of iPhone 14 series. I estimated iPhone 14 series ASP would increase by about 15% (vs. iPhone 13 series ASP) to $1,000-1,050 (USD) due to two iPhone 14 Pro's price hikes & higher shipment proportion. https://t.co/UgiW0kom4F— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) August 10, 2022
"ASP" stands for average sale price, which means that Kuo expects the average price of the base iPhone 14 models will likely be around $1,000 to $1,050, putting it closer to the price range of the existing iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max models. By comparison, the standard iPhone 13 sale prices range from around $699 to $999 at most retailers. In a follow-up tweet, Kuo explained the connection between Foxconn and a potential price increase for the iPhone 14: "Hon Hai is the major EMS for iPhone 14 series (with a 60-70% order proportion), so its revenue will markedly benefit from an increased iPhone 14 series ASP."
Considering the intensity of worldwide demand for electronics components brought on by the ongoing semiconductor supply shortage, a higher shipment proportion for phones containing the allegedly expensive A16 chips could drive up manufacturing costs. This means that the iPhone 14's average price could be higher — not lower — stumping one of Ming-Chi Kuo's other predictions (for a lower ASP) from as recently as September 2021.