iPhone 15 series high production costs could result in iPhone 16 price hike: report

iPhone 16 series price might be high

• The iPhone 15 Pro Max price for making will reportedly be $588 (approx Rs 48,900), which is a 12 percent increase over the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
• Between 2018 and 2021, the total cost of parts for the Pro Max models ranged between $400 (around Rs 33,300) and $450 (approx Rs 37,400).
• This means the component costs rose around 20 percent in 2022 before reaching the current peak of $558.
• Among all other components, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's telephoto camera is now at $30, which is a 38 percent increase over the previous model.
• Likewise, the titanium frame costs $50, which is a 43 percent increase over the stainless steel frame of previous models.
• Lastly, the A17 Pro chip costs $130 (around Rs 10,800), a 27 percent increase over the A16 Bionic.

Besides the Pro Max models, the standard iPhone 15 models have also witnessed price hikes. The standard iPhone 15's components cost $423, a 16 percent increase compared to iPhone 14. The iPhone 15 Plus is calculated at $442, a 10 percent hike over the predecessor. Lastly, the iPhone 15 Pro grew by 8 percent to $523.

Despite the increase in costs, Apple has not hiked the retail prices of the iPhone 15 models this year and has obviously chosen to swallow the impact of increased expenses. The only notable change was the discontinuation of the 128GB Pro Max model, which means that users who normally buy the 128GB model will now have to pay $100 more to get the device.

Tokyo-based research company, Fomalhaut Tecno Solutions in association with Nikkei reports that if Apple continues to absorb the impact of increased production costs, the bottom line might soon suffer and as a result, Apple may finally increase iPhone 16 series retail prices when they are launched in 2024.