We know Apple is planning a massive iPhone shakeup after the surprisingly dull iPhone 11. But now it seems that shakeup is starting much earlier than anyone anticipated.
In an explosive new report, The Economic Times reports Apple has killed off four of its iPhones spanning three generations. The move will initially impact India, but it looks set to have significant repercussions worldwide.
Apple is pulling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (2014), iPhone 6S Plus (2015) and iPhone SE (2016) from sale. All four models are still widely sold around the world, including in the US, where you’ll even find Apple still supplying the iPhone 6 to Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, US Cellular and more. And here’s where the wider impact lies.
The Economic Times reports that the models are being phased out to “increase the average selling price of iPhones” in order to “boost both profit and revenue.” This makes sense given Apple has suffered from falling iPhone sales, particularly in India, so the closing of cheap entry points into the range will upsell customers to more expensive models.
The problem with this move, however, is the benefits may be short lived. For a while, iPhone fans may be prepared to pay more to stay with what they know, but if sales are already falling then it also risks pushing customers away from joining a famously sticky and locked-in ecosystem. That impacts sales in the long term. The fact these are the last iPhones with headphone jacks also raises the new cost of entry a little further.
Needless to say, Apple rarely does anything without a wider strategy in mind. As such, I’d be amazed if any of these devices remain on sale in other countries for much longer. So yes, the future of iPhones is going to be very exciting but it also looks set to get a lot more expensive for everyone.
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