...the iPhone remains the dominant high end leader in sales. As outlined in my previous post, the question isn't whether the iPhone sold well at a slight premium in the past; that is an undisputed fact, and largely driven by the fact that it was the most advanced phone on the market for years. The question is going forward, now that it isn't the most advanced phone, how much would sales be impacted if the premium gap increased.
The most knowledgeable people on the matter of how consumers react to differences in subsidized phone price are the people who deal with it many times per day, hands on. Go into any cell store and ask, "If you double the subsidized price of the [insert any flagship phone], how would it impact sales?" Out course, maybe Apple will do as you suggest and find a way to hold the line on costs, hold the line on price, or both. Or maybe the iPhone 6 will leapfrog competitors in capabilities and features, re-enabling it to command the highest premium (to a degree) without faltering. But I'm curious what will happen if one or more of those things don't happen. What if costs rise 10%, the asking price rises 15%, and the phone just plays catch-up to competitors? The aforementioned cell sales reps can give useful insight. |
