The $699 iPhone 11 Means Apple Is Caving to Market Pressure
The $699 standard version of the iPhone 11 might just be its most compelling launch in years — and shows that Apple is feeling the pressure. | Source: REUTERS/Stephen Lam
Earlier this week, Apple unveiled its new line of iPhone 11 smartphones. While most of the spotlight was shown on the camera-heavy iPhone 11 Pro model, the $699 standard version of the phone might just be its most compelling iPhone launch in years — and shows that the American multinational technology company might finally be feeling some pressure from competitors like Samsung and Google.
Coming in at just under $700, the iPhone 11 will launch at a price point that is $50 cheaper than last year’s iPhone XR — the most-shipped smartphone in the first half of 2019 . Furthermore, the iPhone 11 will feature a more robust dual-lens camera set-up and twice the memory, which adds to the surprise that the notoriously pricey company would discount the new iteration so substantially.
With the iPhone 11 lineup being widely interpreted as an iterative placeholder for the refreshed 2020 iPhones, it stands to reason that many buyers in the market for a new iPhone will look to the cheaper version to tide themselves over — especially considering the success of the more reasonably priced iPhone XR.
iPhone 11: More Consumer-Friendly Than Ever
The sticker price of the standard iPhone 11 will almost certainly attract high sales figures — given the success of the iPhone XR — but Apple is theoretically leaving billions of dollars on the table by not charging more. With this in mind, it would appear that the company is starting to give in to market pressures and abandon its (in)famous ‘we-can-charge-as-much-as-we-want-because-we’re-Apple’ mindset.
With flagship competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S10 series — which feature more robust specs, better screens, and (arguably) better form factors — coming in at cheaper prices, Apple is finding it harder and harder to justify charging premium prices for its products. Samsung even launched a competitor to the iPhone XR in the form of its smaller Galaxy S10e, which itself was a well-reviewed and compelling product for its price point .
Apple Can Afford to Cut iPhone Prices
In the face of a more competitive phone market than ever before, Apple is finally biting the bullet and dropping its prices. However, the company itself can afford to take this new approach, given the success of its services. The company’s subscription products — such as iCloud, Apple Music, and Apple News+ — boosted Apple services revenue by 13 percent year-over-year.
At the time of this writing, Apple’s stock is down 1.94 percent on the day. The company has a market capitalization of $988.57 billion.
