Apple knows no one really wants to pay $1,000 for a phone, but that’s how much it plans to charge for iPhone 8. To make it feel a little less expensive, the company will reportedly throw in some extras — including free music and storage.
Apple is expected to unveil three new smartphones next week. We’re likely to see incremental improvements to the iPhone 7 lineup, alongside an all-new model to celebrate the handset’s tenth anniversary. It’s the latter most fans will want to upgrade to.
But according to countless reports, its price tag will start at $1,000. That’s a steep rise for what was already one of the world’s most expensive phones — but it could come with some nice freebies that help ease the credit card sting.
According to Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz and his team, Apple plans to include a free Apple Music subscription and 200GB of iCloud storage for the first year. The bundle would normally cost $156, effectively reducing the cost of an iPhone 8 to $844.
This would have a much smaller impact on Apple’s bottom line than if it was to just reduce the price of iPhone 8.
Barclays did a survey that found only about 40 million customers would buy an iPhone 8 at $1,000. But if Apple Music and iCloud storage was bundled with it at no extra cost, over 64.4 million people would be willing to cough up for it.
That equates to 7 percent more iPhone revenue, or an extra $9.8 billion. And when that one year of free Apple Music and iCloud storage is up, customers are more likely to fork out for it having relied on it for so long already.
Via: Business Insider
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
10 responses to “Apple freebies could take sting out of iPhone 8 price tag”
but you lose that after the first year. They’re going to expect you to pay for that since you’ll miss it. You will not only be buying a $1,000 iphone, but you’ll be paying extra for the music service, and extra for 200GB of iCloud storage.
I’m willing to bet the fact it would sell a lot better if it shipped with AirPods.
I was hoping to see the airpod option. So if you already have that combo do you get a year off? Hope so that would be nice.
I’m a die hard apple fan and own all apple products. This however will be an exception. Needless to say i have other important things to spend a grand on than a phone. So sadly, an upgrade for me is not something i need. The so called freebies don’t even come close to being free.. All that is saying is that your actually paying for them, but they are making them look like they are free.
“Apple knows no one really wants to pay $1,000 for a phone”
Apple also knows that no one want to pay $1000 for a Samsung Note 8.
Saying “reportedly” is very misleading since this is just speculation.
Just one more reason to hang on to my 7!
What if I don’t want apple music or their crappy icloud? Can I at least give them so somebody else?
“Apple knows no one really wants to pay $1,000 for a phone, but that’s how much it plans to charge for iPhone 8.”
When was this officially announced? Links please. Where was it publicized that “that’s how much it plans to charge for iPhone 8.”
Go back to journalism school
To this moment – I hold myself (and family) from paying ANYTHING monthly to Apple. So we’re stuck with minimal iCloud backups to our dozen or so devices, and the constant nagging of iOS and MacOS that we “upgrade” is up to my teeth already, but for now – just for now – the alternatives (Android that is) is still so inferior (as a product, as a solution) that it isn’t yet time to switch.
Apple is steadily losing its edge – simply because they lost the lighthouse that was Mr. Steve Jobs. He left them a decade worth of business plans and ideas – but current leadership at apple grew under him – and so was already neutralized when he was alive.
Tim Cook changes Apple from a magnificent tool maker, to Gay-Fasion firm. They no longer target “the rest of us” but yuppies (young urban professionals, and rich youth) plus all those who want to feel like these.
In most technical aspects Apple is “Stuck” with decade old ideas and solutions – and they gradually stop making sense. Having no sense- they also fail to be so coherent as they were before.
One really worrying aspect of this – the loss of product features. Most Apple applications have lost much functionality along the last decade. Photos is much less than iPhoto, and at the same time Aperture was killed. Xcode has lost at least 20 major features since v3.2.6. Pages gets more restrictive by the minute, iDVD is gone with nothing to replace it. iMovie lost most its editing tools. etc. etc. Mac no longer aims at profiessionals, or at work. Only for lifestyle. The Mac looks like a crippled iOS device, and the iOS device – is just crippled. Its UI got crowded and completely buried under “things that pop up” from all directions – that one hardly dares touch the screen anymore. UI elements shrunk to the point of frustration and un-usability.
Also product design deteriorated. The new round edges of new iPhones are nothing but an invitation for slipping the device to the floor. They’re way too smooth and round for the human palm. In reality – no one holds them without a case of some sort – that will revert this lousy decision.
Mac books are a real marvel. I bought a MacBook Pro 13″ to my wife mid 2010. It’s been 3 years that I want to buy her a new one – but ALL current models FAIL TO MATCH the old one in important aspects!!!
Connectivity – gone. The old one has: Ethernet, USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, FireWire800, SD card slot, and a read-write DVD drive. New ones? only usb-c – and go !@#@# yourself.
Old one has 16GB of RAM. new ones ? same – but with much heavier software.
Old one has 1TB hybrid drive. New ones? no more than 512GB SSD.
This means – Apple hasn’t created a match in 7 years! new MBPs are no longer “Pro” in any sense, and they are no more than mid-management status symbol. They look great. Yeah. that’s all.
So, the iPhone 8 (or X) or whatever they call it – will just be along these lines. Fashinable, designed like a jewel (as if we want jewels all over the place) doing less for you than its previous, and more expansive.
Guess? I’m sticking with my iPhone SE – exterior design of iPhone 5 from 5 years ago.