Ben Thompson: ‘The iPhone and Apple’s Services Strategy’

Ben Thompson, writing at Stratechery, on Tuesday’s event:

That means that this year actually saw three price cuts:

  • First, the iPhone 11 — this year’s mid-tier model — costs $50 less than the iPhone XR it is replacing.

  • Second, the iPhone XR’s price is being cut by $150 a year after launch, not $100 as Apple has previously done.

  • Third, the iPhone 8’s price is also being cut by $150 two years after launch, not $100 as Apple has previously done.

I completely missed this.

Also a great observation about why Apple brought out Deirdre O’Brien at the very end of the event:

So, in the case of this slide, you can get an iPhone 11 and Apple TV+ for $17/month. […]

To that end, how long until there is a variant of the iPhone Upgrade Program that is simply an all-up Apple subscription? Pay one monthly fee, and get everything Apple has to offer. Indeed, nothing would show that Apple is a Services company more than making the iPhone itself a service, at least as far as the customer relationship goes. You might even say it is innovative.

★ Thursday, 12 September 2019