Would your one month salary be enough to buy an iPhone, a MacBook and an iPad? For most of you, I am sure it would be. But Why are Apple products always so expensive?
Personally, I can only think of one answer, and that’s,
“Because I spent all my teen knowing and reading that Apple products are expensive because they are too good to be any less pricey”.Just Kidding!
That is probably because it’s the company that makes the least effort in convincing its customers that they are the best. Until 2015, Apple manufactured undeniably the finest smartphones in the world, probably beyond its customer’s expectation and its closest competition was way behind.
That is why even today a true Apple fan is always willing to outweigh the economic burden by the pride of owning an Apple product given that there are quite a few good alternatives in the market now.
Why has Apple never made anything cheap?
On the 29th of June, 2007, when Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone it was priced at $499. Getting this far to iPhone Xs in 2018, the variants today start at $999.
An analysis in 2017 says that increasing rate of Apple prices is overshadowing the inflation. Apple had enjoyed maximum unit sales of more than 230 million in 2015. Since then it has not been able to surpass that number.
Because smartphones are becoming more durable and long-lasting, people are buying or upgrading them less frequently these days thus the sales volume has declined. It seems that to keep the initial profit margin in check Apple cannot stop hiking its price unrealistically as opposed to other brands of smartphones.
The analysis also found out that the manufacturing cost of iPhone X was only 25% higher than that of iPhone 8 but when it came out in the retail market, it was priced 43% more than iPhone 8. Each unit of iPhone X they sell draws them a gross margin of 64%.
Clearly, Apple is trying to keep the value of the company within the expected range for its shareholders to continue trusting them.
An do you remember in 2018 they tried to sell the Apple Gold Watch for $10,000. Damn!
Apple is definitely feeling the heat with the upsurge in sales and popularity of its competitors namely Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi.
So the answer as it seems is that the customers are feeling that since the last few years Apple price has increased not because of the additional features but because to hold on to its reputation of being the most valuable company in the world.
