After years of gradually lowering prices, this year Apple cleverly reminded users that the iPhone is still a luxury product!

Surprise after iPhone X

In 2018, after hitting a trillion mark thanks to the success of the iPhone X, Apple embarked on an unprecedented journey in company history: iPhone price cuts.

It all starts with the iPhone XR. Released with the iPhone XS and XS Max, the iPhone XR can be considered as a “reversed” version of the iPhone X: LCD screen, single camera and stainless steel case (instead of high-end glass case). However, it is the iPhone XR that is the successor to the iPhone X as the best-selling smartphone in the world, far ahead of the two brothers XS and XS Max, which are much more advanced.

After the iPhone X, Apple has continuously taken steps to show preference for the iFan not too expensive.

The iPhone XR’s sudden victory over the iPhone XS and XS Max probably made Apple realize that betting on the $ 1,000 segment is not the long-term way. Following the iPhone XR, Apple’s flagship iPhone in 2019 is even more affordable: $ 700. It took only 4 months, iPhone 11 rose to number two in the best-selling smartphone rankings in 2019, behind iPhone XR.

In the first 6 months of this year, iPhone 11 sold 29 million units, beating all the Android phones with much lower prices. In the Apple family alone, behind the iPhone 11 is the iPhone SE, Apple’s surprise blow to the mid-range segment. The price of $ 400 has helped iPhone SE sell nearly 9 million units, surpassing even the cheap Redmi models. This is a remarkable achievement, considering the SE was only sold at the end of April while other competitors in the top 10 were all sold during the first 6 months of the year.

Disappointed with the price of the iPhone 12

The continued success of the “affordable” iPhones has helped spark hope that the 2020 iPhone will continue this path. Months before the launch of the iPhone 12, sources had even expected the Mini version to start at just $ 550 and the “regular” version from $ 650, which is another $ 50 drop over its predecessor. The appearance of Watch SE, iPad 10.2 inch 2020 or the “revival” of the MacBook Air after years of neglect has helped to make that hope grow …

There was a time when iFan dared to expect (and rumor) that the iPhone 12 Mini would start at “just” $ 550.

On October 13, all hope dissipated. iPhone 12 Mini was unveiled at a price of 700 USD, iPhone 12 “usually” cost 800 USD. Not as expected, the iPhone 12 Mini is not a product that allows users to access the new iPhone generation at a cheaper price than the iPhone 11. At $ 700, users now only own the 5.4 inch iPhone. instead of the “standard” 6.1-inch size as in previous years.

More importantly, the arrival of the iPhone 12 Mini allows Apple to bid $ 800 for a “regular” iPhone 12. This will definitely be the iPhone most chosen by many people, because simply the iPhone 12 is equipped with a 6.1-inch screen like the XR and 11 that were extremely successful before. By raising prices on a product line that is sure to be best-selling, Tim Cook expresses his ambition to optimize profits instead of trying to bring the iPhone to as many people as possible as before.

Discouraging steps

And yet, the $ 700 and $ 800 prices are actually only for the iPhone sold by AT&T and Verizon in the US. If you buy an unlocked device (or an international device), users will have to spend an additional 30 USD, raising the price of the iPhone 12 Mini to 730 USD, iPhone 12 to 830 USD.

If you buy a charger compatible with the cord with the device, you will spend 850 USD for the unlocked iPhone 12!

Worst of all, Apple cut off the charger for “environmental protection”. Inside the box of the iPhone 12, Apple ships with a Lightning charger cord with a USB-C connector, which is NOT compatible with most older iPhone charging models. If users pay to buy USB-C charger, the total cost of unlocked iPhone 12 will be 850 USD.

Last year, buying an iPhone 11 (with charger included), you only needed to spend $ 700. The actual selling price of the iPhone 12 is $ 150 more expensive than the iPhone 11! Such increase was unprecedented in the history of the Apple. Even in the past 2 years, Apple has only decreased, not increased.

In Vietnam, the TGDD chain is setting the official price for the iPhone 12 at nearly 25 million dong, 3 million more expensive than the starting price of iPhone 11 last year. And of course, iPhone 12 in Vietnam also does not come with a charger. 18W USB-C charger has a promotional price of nearly 700,000 VND. Thus, the total cost of iPhone 12 with charger is higher than iPhone 11 (with charger in box) of last year to 3.7 million dong.

Death of “soft price” iPhone era?

This is a change that is beyond iFan’s expectations and is also worth worrying about. As of the end of October, Covid-19 is still raging in many key Apple markets such as the US or Europe. However, Apple has rushed to erase the “soft price” motto of the past two years, returning to put profits first … All hopes for a soft-priced iPhone era are now gone with the new iPhone.