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Would You Buy the iPhone 8 If It Cost $1,200? (9to5mac.com)

As we near the launch of the next iPhone, rumors are swirling about what it may feature. One of the most recent reports comes from developer and blogger John Gruber, who claims the iPhone 8 will have a starting price of around $1200. 9to5Mac reports: He last week said that he believed that what we've been referring to as the iPhone 8 would be called the iPhone Pro and that he actually hoped it would be really expensive: "I hope the iPhone Pro starts at $1500 or higher. I'd like to see what Apple can do in a phone with a higher price." As you might imagine, that generated quite a bit of discussion. Gruber has backed down somewhat from this position, and is now suggesting a starting point of around $1200: "$1,500 as a starting price is probably way too high. But I think $1,200 is quite likely as the starting price, with the high-end model at $1,300 or $1,400." His argument is effectively that Apple is constrained in what it can do in a phone because any technology included in the phone has to be available in huge volumes. If it were willing to sell fewer at a higher price, then it would have more options. There has been speculation that Gruber may have been tipped by Apple, and using his posts to prepare the ground for what would otherwise be a severe case of sticker shock. But Gruber denied this. If Apple does launch the iPhone 8 with a 4-figure price tag, would you buy it?

3 of 561 comments (clear)

  1. never by gravewax · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not a hope in hell. being locked down in their ecosystem negates the value of any significant premium hardware increases. besides which unless they have worked out something amazing in battery, holographics or such I personally can't think of much that could even be all that interesting hardware wise, gimmicky 3D or VR maybe but that would be a death sentence just like it was for 3D TV's and looking that way for VR headsets too . I don't need smaller or lighter, CPU, memory, storage, graphics are all more than adequate in most top end phones, really getting like PC's a little now where you can work quite happily on older hardware as long as it is still supported with updates.

  2. Price is only one dimension by mseeger · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I buy something does not solely depend on the price. It also depends on the value I get from the item.

    So when asking the question, you should ask "Are those features worth X".

    I haven't seen the final list for the next iPhone yet. So I cannot say yet if it will be worth Y dollars.

    In the past, the iPhones I bought were worth every penny I paid. But be aware: the value may depend on your needs. So what may be true for me, must not be true for everyone else.

  3. Re: No way by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good for you. I do all those things on my phone as well and it cost me £150. But then I also paid £5000 for my last car and it did me well for 12 years (before I needed more room than an executive saloon could offer). Whose fault is it if you're paying over the odds for your phone AND your car?

    I like people like you - because without you I couldn't buy top of the range goods for pennies on the pound.