If you thought you were paying a lot for your current iPhone Pro Max, don’t worry, Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks you can be cajoled into an even more expensive model, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s latest newsletter.
Gurman reports that in an investor meeting, Cook made an offhand remark in response to an investor question about the rising price of iPhones. “I think that people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category,” Cook reportedly said while emphasizing how reliant people are on their smartphones and that, given the right features, users would pay even more for an Apple device.
According to Gurman, the company has had internal discussions about an iPhone model that surpasses the now top-of-the-line Pro Max tier of the smartphone, speculating that the company could name the new iPhone the “Ultra.” Gurman points out that the name wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, given that the “Apple Watch Ultra” came out with the same branding last year. And that such an iPhone Ultra could hit Apple Store shelves as early as 2024.
While Gurman doesn’t hint at what features such an iPhone Ultra may contain, he does claim that the iPhone 15 Pro Max (expected to be released later this year) will come equipped with a periscope lens. He also suggests that the next iPhone model will feature a range of materials, processors, and cameras. And he goes on to state that if Apple wants people to shell out even more money for an upgraded iPhone, the Ultra model needs even more camera improvements, faster chipsets, and even larger displays.
Gurman has a decent, if imperfect, record with his Apple predictions. But this one should be taken with an extra grain of salt because he doesn’t actually predict that this will come true, just that there have been “internal discussions” at Apple about coming out with an iPhone tier above Pro Max. It’s also possible that Apple plans to do away with the Plus tier iPhone to add a model above Pro Max—but that’s also speculation.
Source: Bloomberg
