Dec 22, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT
May 22, 2017 05:35 AM EDT
There are three features of the upcoming iPhone 8 that would explain why the price tag of the 10th anniversary iPhone of Apple would cost more than $1,000. These are the integration of the 3D Touch, the shift to OLED screen, and upgraded memory.
A report from Economic Daily News says that to integrate 3D Touch into the speculated iPhone 8, TPK Holdings, an Apple component supplier, hiked its quote by 2 to 2.5 times the price which the company approved. The cost of the integration is between $18 and $22, up from the TPK previous charge of between $7 and $9.
The second added cost was the use of OLED panels. It requires the bonding of a glass cover on the back and front side of an OLED panel to reinforce the screen which is fragile by adding a bonded glass cover, 9TO5Mac reports. The additional cost of that procedure is $35 to the overall manufacturing cost, Forbes reports. Add as well another $20 for a new 3D sensing technology and between $16 and $29 for the upgraded memory to hike the final retail price of the iPhone 8 to over $1,000.
BGR notes that given these hiked costs, the cheapest iPhone 8 would be the one with 128GBB storage which would have a price tag of $1,000. Double the storage capacity and the retail price will inch up to $1,099. Prior to the iPhone 8, the most expensive iPhone was the iPhone 7 Plus at $969.
But the $1,000 ballpark figure is still considered a conservative estimate. Also added to the higher cost of the iPhone are the wireless charging and quick charging feature of the iPhone 8.
The website suggests that Apple fans who want to own an iPhone 8 must start saving now. But they have likely more than half a year to do that. The shift to these features delays the launch of the 10th anniversary iPhone from the 4th quarter 2017 to early 2017.
