COMMENT | On Tuesday, Apple chief executive Tim Cook attempted to defend the record pricing for one of the company's upcoming iPhones — but his explanation is only raising more questions.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Cook was asked about the US$1099 starting price - $1799 in Australia - for the forthcoming iPhone XS Max. After giving the standard response that the device is "the most advanced iPhone we've ever done," Cook offered a different type of defence, by citing the prevalence of financing agreements for iPhones.
"But the way most people pay for these, as it turns out, is they do a deal with a carrier, and they pay so much per month," Cook said. "And so if you look at even the phone that's priced over US$1000, most people pay about US$30 a month for it. And so it's about a dollar a day."
However, the majority of carrier contracts and other financing arrangements are for 24 months. And as the New York Post pointed out, 24 months at US$30 per month comes nowhere near US$1099. That only gets you to US$720.
So what is Cook talking about?
It's possible he was thinking of what iPhone buyers used to pay when they bought in with a 24-month carrier contract.
As an iPhone 8 owner, I'm currently paying almost the exact amount that Cook referenced, in fact, US$29.12 per month. But that's for a phone priced at US$699, well below either the iPhone XS Max or the US$999 iPhone XS.
If you want to finance a base model iPhone XS Max, you're actually going to pay a premium of more than 50 percent on a monthly basis above the figure Cook quoted; US$45.79 per month.
CRN USA has reached out to Apple for comment.
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