iPhone 12 is said to be arriving this year: if not September, than later in 2020. We know (or at least, we think we know) a few things about the range: most notably, several leaks claim we'll be seeing four iPhone 12 handsets.
There's a lot we don't know, but notably, we're not sure how different the four handsets are going to be, or how much the phones are going to cost. However, we may have just got our first clue.
Apple's 2020 flagships are going to come in four different flavours, if the leaks prove correct: there's the standard iPhone 12, said to arrive in 5.4" and 6.1" sizes, then the iPhone 12 Pro (same size as the larger model) and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, at 6.7".
Analyst Chung-Hoon Lee of UBI Research has spoken to Korean outlet The Elec (opens in new tab) (sourced via PhoneArena (opens in new tab)) on the probable pricing for the latest iPhones, and his calculations are surprisingly reasonable. To start with, the 5.4" iPhone 12 model is said to come in at just $700 USD.
Considering this is a state-of-the-art flagship phone (and an Apple phone, no less) that is great value. Together with the recently-launched iPhone SE, which starts at $399 in the US and £419.99 in the UK, it looks like Apple has begun to identify a trend in premium handsets coming at an affordable price.
The iPhone SE might have changed the game for Apple
The 6.1" handset will reportedly add $50 on top of that, while the iPhone 12 Pro will debut at $999. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is set to cost $1,099, which is more or less in line with the iPhone 11 Pro Max in today's lineup.
As flagship devices are stuffed with increasingly advanced technology, we've been seeing an increase in price to reflect this. But how long can this pricing arms race last?
It's telling Apple has not only frozen the price of its ultra-premium handset (if these leaks are accurate) but are now thinking smaller and targeting those without limitless budgets, rather than waiting for older handsets to lower in price. Samsung, for example, uses a similar tactic with its Galaxy A series, so Apple may have felt it was missing a trick.
The rerelease of the iPhone SE 2020 seems to have renewed interest in smaller budget handsets, so perhaps Apple is simply riding this wave. Nevertheless, as we move forward to Apple's annual showcase in the Autumn, we'll likely see further leaks to corroborate Lee's analysis.
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