Apple on Tuesday unveiled an array of new hardware offerings — including an update to its flagship iPhone — improving on previous models. But one metric remained mostly the same: the price.
The new iPhone 13 will cost $800, the same as last year’s iPhone 12, while the iPhone 13 Mini will cost $700, identical to last year. The more expensive models of the new phones, the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, will cost you $1,000 and $1,100, respectively, the same as last year’s premium versions.
Apple has raised its phone prices over the years, with the increases sometimes spooking consumers. Sales of the more expensive iPhone X models that began at $1,000 in 2018 were slower than expected, for instance, causing Apple to mark down revenue estimates and cut prices in China.
The company responded in 2019 with a cheaper offering: $700 for the iPhone 11, down from $750 for the comparable iPhone XR the prior year. And last spring, it unveiled a new budget iPhone SE for $400. Some analysts thought the strategy might be shrewd during the pandemic, as people tried to save money.
Recently, iPhone sales have been through the roof, in part because the pandemic has furthered people’s reliance on technology.
The new Apple Watch announced on Tuesday, the Series 7, will cost $400, the same price as its last few models. Apple also introduced a cheaper watch last year, the SE, for $280.
Apple also unveiled a new iPad, which will cost $330, the same as last fall’s version. The only price jump announced at the event was for the new iPad mini, for $500, up from the company’s most recent $400 mini that came out in 2019.
