Who Needs Apple's $1,000 iPhone X? Not Me

Mobile phones first emerged in the mid-1970s, but it took about a decade for the business to begin in earnest, starting with 1983's Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, a humorous clunker that looked like a brick and cost around $4,000.

As is often the case in the tech world, mobile phone prices fell rapidly, even as performance increased and devices grew ever more portable. Today, a state-of-the-art mobile phone with every gimmick runs about $400 to $700 unlocked.

But if we're going by Moore’s Law, which forces down price while boosting performance, these phones should be half that price and getting cheaper. So what's the deal with the iPhone X, which starts at $999 thanks to its OLED panel and facial-recognition tech? Today’s smartphones should be closer to $99.

This might look like desperation by Apple, which wants to ignite a premium phone market for people with too much money who always want the best. It's actually a long-term strategy to become the only premium brand in tech.

I have mixed feelings about this. First, previous attempts to make a luxury product out of a pocket phone—which largely entailed adding diamonds to smartphones—have failed miserably over the years; just ask Vertu.

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Second, people like getting a deal, or the most "bang for the buck." Is an edge-to-edge OLED display and Face ID really worth $1,000+? If not, those with iPhone X risk being labeled show-offs or as having more money than brains. Get back to me when you develop a truly revolutionary product that won't max out my credit card.

Until then, my take on today's sociology says the luxury iPhone will be a bust, though clever marketing could prove me wrong. But I'm not holding my breath.

iPhone X - Apple Event