Apple's average iPhone selling price hit a record of $652 in 2017, and the continuing sales of the iPhone X, as well as the new trio of notch-y handsets that will be taking its place, are expected to push it to the whopping $738 in the current fiscal year.
The XR is arguably Apple's first big-screen phone in a fairly compact body that also comes at "affordable" for the company's standards price tag, so Apple has a lot riding on not bungling the launch. On the bright side, an LCD iPhone launch that comes later than the high-end OLED successors of the iPhone X may force early upgraders to splurge for the more expensive models this year.
This is a rather dreamy scenario for Apple, given that folks are keeping their handsets longer, while the breakneck pace of smartphone market growth is slowly abating. Well, Apple isn't messing with its winning pricing structure for the new 2018 crop of the iPhone Xr, Xs and Xs Max, so, without further ado, here are their prices, depending on the SIM slot number and/or storage configuration.
Apple iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR prices
It is not the first year Apple is releasing three smartphones at once, but it's the first time it is issuing dual-SIM handsets and the first it has a 512GB storage tier, so you can imagine that the pricing table is going to be much larger than usual.
| Apple iPhone XR | Apple iPhone XS | Apple iPhone XS Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64 GB | $749 | $999 | $1099 |
| 128GB | $799 | n/a | n/a |
| 256GB | $899 | $1149 | $1249 |
| 512GB | n/a | $1349 | $1449 |
Apple iPhone XR, XS, Max release dates and country availability
| Apple iPhone XR | Apple iPhone XS | Apple iPhone XS Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | 10/26 | 9/21 | 9/21 |
| Preorders | Friday, 10/19 | Friday, 9/14 | Friday, 9/14 |
| Country availability | Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UAE, UK, US and US Virgin Islands. | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UAE, UK, US and US Virgin Islands. From Friday, 9/28: Andorra, Armenia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and South Africa | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UAE, UK, US and US Virgin Islands. From Friday, 9/28: Andorra, Armenia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia and South Africa |
Last year, the iPhone X shipped much later than the 8 and 8 Plus, due to production yield problems with the brand new at the time TrueDepth camera kit needed for FaceID. This year, TrueDepth production should have been mastered already, but the LCD screen of the Xr is reportedly causing the same yield problems. Apple has allegedly tasked JDI with its Full Active screen tech, as well as LG Display, to produce the 6.1" panel, but going around the huge notch may have proved more problematic than expected.
Industry sources cite issues with light leakage around the notch at both manufacturers, which will be hard to circumvent and lead to the delayed release. Granted, LG already has a top-shelf LCD phone with a notch on the market, but the G7's protrusion is much narrower, and, besides, who knows what heavy quality demands Apple is posing towards its suppliers.
The XR is arguably Apple's first big-screen phone in a fairly compact body that also comes at "affordable" for the company's standards price tag, so Apple has a lot riding on not bungling the launch. On the bright side, an LCD iPhone launch that comes later than the high-end OLED successors of the iPhone X may force early upgraders to splurge for the more expensive models this year.
That would be a total reverse of Apple's strategy in 2017 that led to lukewarm X sales, compared to many forecasts. Win-win, yet analysts warn that, due to the delayed release, Apple may sell "just" 30-40 million LCD iPhone units this fiscal year, and 75 million OLED ones. The poor team from Cupertino, no house extensions this year.
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