Why iPhones are costly?

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Deep dive into the facts on what makes the iPhone costlier.

Apple Inc, the trillion dollar US tech giant makes iPhones, iPads, MacBook and desktop iMacs.

Even though the smartphone market has become very competitive these days, Apple somehow manages to release iPhones pricier every year.

What makes them do this? What is happening behind the scenes?

Well your questions will be answered here. So buckle up, let me take you to a ride featuring the story behind an iPhone.

The history as we know

Steve Jobs came on to the stage and revealed the first iPhone in the year 2007 with a slogan ‘Apple reinvents the phone‘. Back then people laughed at the touch interface of iPhone and many analysts were pessimistic that the iPhone will never make a hit in the market.

That changed quickly and the first iPhone became a market hit as more and more users were attracted to the new interface and its awesome build.

Apple went on to sell 6 million units and other companies started to notice this new trend.

Truth be told, iPhones have changed the way on how we interact with our mobile devices now.

Hardware

Apple as a tech company makes both hardware and software for its devices. iPhones operate on iOS which is a trademark operating system from Apple for its mobile devices.

The development and effort it takes to optimize both hardware and software is huge and Apple invests a lot into this.

The current high-end iPhone 13 Pro series has only 6 GB RAM whereas Android devices have reached a peak of 12 gigs of RAM.

Which one do you think works smooth and fast for a longer period of time ?

It’s the iPhone.

Apple’s latest-gen mobile processor dubbed ‘A15 bionic’ is miles ahead in speed and efficiency compared to Qualcomm’s recently launched Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

Software support

That being said, hardware doesn’t always make a device faster, it’s the underneath software and optimizations that makes it work smooth and fast for a longer period of time.

The optimizations made in iOS are very huge and Apple’s development team invests a lot of time and money into it.

Every new iPhone has a software support that features new operating system upgrades and security updates for 5 years.

The 2015 released iPhone 6S which came with iOS 9 still runs the latest iteration of iOS 15 and it’s really surprising when you compare it with Android devices.

Android devices have a software support of 2 years and it is up to the OEMs to provide proper software updates.

Many companies like Samsung take too much time to release new Android OS versions to its devices( even for their flagship phones like Samsung S and Z series).

By the time they release it, Google will be ready with their next Android version. This happens with all the other Android phone manufacturers.

Did you know ?

Apple’s latest iOS 15 runs in 70% of supported iPhones and Google’s latest Android 12 runs on less than 5% of supported Android devices.

Last year Apple invested $16 billion in research and development. These investments impact the pricing of an iPhone.

But they also provide consumers with all the above mentioned features and support.

Quality of apps

Developer community is the backbone for any mobile OS success. And Apple has a huge developer community compared to Android.

As an Apple customer myself I can vouch that the games and apps for the iPhone are more polished compared to the Android ones.

This is because the company invests quite a lot of money towards the developer community.

Compared to Android, iOS app developers earn more and spend less time to develop apps.

Apple also follows stringent app review process before it is made available in the App Store. Thereby bringing well polished apps and games to its users.

Bringing one of a kind features first to the market

When the first iPhone brought touch screen interface in a phone , it started a market trend and all the other manufacturers followed the way.

The touch input was one of its kind during those days when other smartphone markers were lagging behind.

The Next-generation of iPhones pioneered the famous ‘Touch ID’, the fingerprint scanner in iPhones. It was very fast and reliable compared to the ones from other manufacturers.

iPhones also brought huge inventions in mobile photography and currently the iPhone 11 Pro is rated to be having the best camera in a smartphone by most of the tech reviewers.

Face ID, the face unlock feature of current-gen iPhones is actually the most secured and accurate face identification system in the smartphone market.

This list can go on and on. But one thing is clear, Apple brings latest tech features to the world by genuinely investing time and efforts in it.

Ecosystem

One of the biggest factors that drive consumers towards Apple products is the ecosystem.

Since the first iPhone’s inception, Apple has grown it’s ecosystem into a big tech community.

Let me put in this way, suppose you buy an iPhone and you are looking for a product that can work seamlessly with your phone, you have lot of options to choose from, like the iPad, MacBook, Air Pod, HomePod, Apple Watch, etc. that are made by Apple.

This close binding of Apple products make them standout in the tech industry and it also captures the attention of consumers who in a way get attached to this ecosystem.

Some of you might think that I am praising Apple. Nah, i am not.

All I have explained here is what Apple does in the background that makes iPhones costlier. In fact the making cost of iPhone 13 Pro is just $490 or 35000 INR.

But you are paying extra money to purchase an iPhone and what do you get in return?

A seamless user experience
Good software support
Outstanding hardware
Longevity of the phone
Connected ecosystem
Market leading features
Good resale value

Of course, in India iPhones are pricier compared to other markets because of the import and tax duties in our country.

Things are changing in the smartphone industry now and so is Apple. The company has been adamant in bringing only high-end devices to the market.

But that is changing now. Apple’s latest budget offering iPhone SE 2 is priced 40000 INR and it’s a good recommendation for users who want an iPhone for a lesser price.