Ask tech pundits if they have any confirmed tidbits about upcoming iPhone releases, and you are likely to be countered with “The prices will go up”. And over the past few years, Apple has made efforts to continue maintaining the veracity of this running joke in the tech community. Which is why no one was surprised when Apple announced that it’s latest iteration of the iPhone, the Xs Max, will start at $1,099. Interestingly, freshly minted news reports point to the possibility that Apple has also been tinkering with the iPhone display to keep the price tag under control.
Last month, Apple announced a trio of new devices. The iPhone Xs ($999), the iPhone Xr ($749), and finally, the iPhone Xs Max ($1,099). It is this last device that has caught the fancy of the masses.
Apple has put down the substantial increase in price to the device’s larger size, camera improvements, 6.5-inch OLED display, and err…..the larger size? Ah, I missed taking digs at Apple. Jokes apart though, Apple has introduced a few other features as well, including the 7 nm FinFET Apple A12 Bionic chip with 8-core Neural Engine, in-house GPU, new CMOS Image Sensors, and brand new components for Face ID.
Meanwhile, the larger display which features prominently on all Apple advertisements for the Xs Max naturally bumped up the tech giant’s manufacturing costs. As per TechInsight, which makes breaking open iPhones and estimating their net cost their business, Apple has offset these costs by removing some components from the display (and let’s not forget: by increasing the price by some $$ as well).
The OLED display in the iPhone Xs Max is larger, increasing its cost, but that increase is tempered by the removal of some of the 3D touch components that were previously found in the iPhone X.
Now at this point of time, we do not know what those components might be, and how the end user experience is going to change. Perhaps Apple found a way to incorporate those components, or make do without them. We will know for sure once we get our hands on the device.
Meanwhile, the report also pegs the total component and assembly costs for the iPhone Xs Max with 256-GB of storage capacity around $443. To give you something to measure against, the component and assembly costs were $395.44 for the 64-GB version of last year’s iPhone X. However, while the iPhone X went to sale for $999, the 256-GB version of iPhone Xs Max is set to retail for $1,249.
Well, considering Techinsights cost estimations as accurate, it becomes rather easy to see how Apple became world’s first trillion dollar company. I wonder though, where exactly are buyers going to keep their iPhone Xs Max when not in use? The average American pocket size is around 5.5-inches, and while it could accomodate the Xs at a pinch, the Xs Max is clearly going to stand out – pun intended. Who knows, it might all be a part of clever ploy by Apple, who would then move into the apparel segment in one fell swoop with special iJeans — featuring iPhone Xs Max compatible pockets.
