CEO Tim Cook Says iPhones Are Worth the High Prices

iPhones are notoriously expensive, and when compared to prior models, have risen dramatically in price. Still, Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks customers will keep opening their wallets, even amid tough economic times.

During Apple’s earnings call on Friday, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch asked Cook if continuing to increase the overall price consumers pay for iPhones was “sustainable.”

Cook said that because the iPhone has become “integral” to people’s lives, with everything from debit cards to health data to access to smart homes, people will “really stretch” to pay for the technology.

Apple’s reported quarterly earnings were a “stunning miss” for the multi-trillion-dollar company, according to CNBC, clocking in below analyst estimates on earnings per share and revenue.

The company also broadcasted the largest year-over-year drop in quarterly revenue it’s reported since 2016.

iPhone sales for the quarter were down about 8% compared to the same quarter last year, the company reported. Apple reported production issues in China with its iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Max prior and cited that as a reason for its struggles to sell the phones in the most recently reported earnings period during the call, per CNBC.

Related: Apple Says COVID-19 Restrictions in China Will Delay iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max

Meanwhile, iPhones continue to get more expensive. As Insider calculated, the most expensive version of the iPhone 3GS, released in 2009 (a descendant of the first iPhone, which came out in 2007) with storage and memory, would cost $962 today adjusted for inflation.

The 14 Pro Max, along with one terabyte of storage, cost $1,600, an increase of about 66.3%.

The Washington Post noted in 2018 that the company still tries to cater to people who have less cash on hand, by selling older models of iPhones at lower prices.