Apple Inc.’s coming iPhone 14 lineup might not bring too many new features, but there could be one big change in store. After holding steady on iPhone prices a year ago, some analysts expect that Apple AAPL, -0.10% will increase the price of its iPhone 14 Pro models this year amid camera, chip, and design enhancements—as well as lingering pressure from supply costs and the strong U.S. dollar. Amid the highest inflation rates in decades, there have been concerns about consumers growing more cost-conscious — especially lower-wage earners — but Apple is expected to keep its standard iPhone models at the same starting price while increasing the base $999 and $1,199 prices on its iPhone Pro and Pro Max.
“While the base iPhone will stay at the same price we believe a $100 price increase on the iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max is likely in store given component price increases as well as added functionality on this new release,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a recent note to clients. The company is expected to debut the new iPhone family at a Wednesday event that will kick off at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Apple’s smartphones are its biggest business by far, bringing in more than $162 billion through three quarters of the company’s fiscal year, more than 57% of Apple’s revenue total.
But The planned iPhone 14 debut comes amid uncertainty about how smartphone demand will hold up in the macroeconomic climate. IDC recently projected a 6.5% decline in global smartphone shipments this year, after shipments underperformed their estimates while declining for four quarters in a row. iPhone demand seems to have held up better than the overall market, however, and Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on the company’s last earnings call that he hadn’t noticed “obvious evidence of macroeconomic impact” on the iPhone.
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