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TECHNOLOGY Tuesday 12 sepTember 2017

Apple may test the bounds of iPhone love with a $1,000 model

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE Gene Munster, now man- also is expected to an-
AP Technology Writer aging partner at research nounce minor upgrades
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — and venture capital firm to the iPhone 7 and
Apple is expected to sell Loup Ventures, predicts iPhone 7. That will make
its fanciest iPhone yet for 20 percent of the iPhones it easier for Apple to cre-
$1,000, crossing into a sold during the next year ate several different pric-
new financial frontier that will be the new $1,000 ing tiers, with the oldest
will test how much con- model. model possibly becoming
sumers are willing to pay Wireless carriers eager available for free with a
for a device that’s be- to connect with Apple’s wireless contract.
come an indispensable generally affluent clien- But the deluxe model vir-
part of modern life. tele are likely to either sell tually assures that the av-
The unveiling of a dramat- the iPhone at a discount erage price of the iPhone
ically redesigned iPhone or offer appealing subsi- — now at $606 versus
will likely be the mar- dies that spread the cost $561 three years ago —
quee moment Tuesday of the device over two to will keep climbing. That
when Apple hosts its first three years to minimize runs counter to the usual
product event at its new the sticker shock, said an- tech trajectory in which
spaceship-like headquar- alyst Jan Dawson of Jack- the price of electron-
ters in Cupertino, Califor- daw Research. ics, whether televisions or
nia. True to its secretive Even Munster’s sales fore- computers, falls over time.
ways, Apple won’t con- In this Monday, June 5, 2017, file photo, a person takes a photo cast holds true, it still shows “The iPhone has always
of an Apple logo before an announcement of new products at
firm that it will be introduc- the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. most people either can’t had a way of defying the
ing a new iPhone, though Associated Press afford or aren’t interested law of physics,” Munster
a financial forecast issued in paying that much for a said, “and I think it will do
last month telegraphed and wireless charging. A consumers appear willing smartphone. it in spades with this higher
something significant is in better camera is a safe to pay a premium price That’s one reason Apple priced one.”q
the pipeline. bet, too. for luxury models that take
In addition to several new All those features have them where they want to
features, a souped-up been available on other go in style.
“anniversary” iPhone — smartphones that sold for “Calling it a smartphone
coming a decade after less than $1,000, but Ap- doesn’t come close to
Apple’s late co-founder ple’s sense of design and how people use it, view
Steve Jobs unveiled the marketing flair has a way it and embrace it in their
first version — could also of making them seem ir- lives,” said Debby Ruth,
debut at an attention- resistible — and worth the senior vice president of
getting $999 price tag, extra expense. the consumer research
twice what the original “Apple always seems to firm Magid. “It’s an ex-
iPhone cost. It would set take what others have tension of themselves, it’s
a new price threshold for done and do it even bet- their entry into the world,
any smartphone intend- ter,” said Carolina Mila- it’s their connection to
ed to appeal to a mass nesi, an analyst with Cre- their friends.”
market. ative Strategies. From that perspective, it’s
WHAT A THOUSAND BUCKS WHY PHONES COST MORE, easy to understand why
WILL BUY NOT LESS some smartphones now
Various leaks have indi- Apple isn’t the only com- cost more than many
cated the new phone will pany driving up smart- kinds of laptop comput-
feature a sharper display, phone prices. Market ers, said technology ana-
a so-called OLED screen leader Samsung Electron- lyst Patrick Moorhead.
that will extend from ics just rolled out its Gal- “People now value their
edge to edge of the de- axy Note 8 with a starting phones more than any
vice, thus eliminating the price of $930. other device and, in some
exterior gap, or “bezel,” The trend reflects the in- cases, even more than
that currently surrounds creasing sophistication of food and sex,” Moorhead
most phone screens. smartphones, which have said.
It may also boast facial been evolving into status THE LUXURY-GOOD CHAL-
recognition technology symbols akin to automo- LENGE
for unlocking the phone biles. In both cases, many Longtime Apple expert