Yes, the iPhone 4 without a contract was going for only S$788, which makes the iPhone XS (64GB), cheapest option that Apple just releasedĀ S$861 MORE EXPENSIVE!
TL;DR, iPhone XS compared to:
- iPhone 4: 109.3% more expensive
- Samsung Galaxy SII: 67% more expensive
- Samsung Galaxy S9: 37% more expensive
Ever wondered how the price increment of the iPhone as like on a chart? Let’s chart it.
iPhone Prices Over The Years
For 10 years since 2008, Apple has been releasing their new iPhones annually, sometimes even 2 models a year or even more affordable versions like,
- iPhone SE as compared to the iPhone 6S or
- iPhone 8 versus the iPhone X
Note: For a better illustration of the price difference, we have excluded theirĀ Plus counterparts (e.g. iPhone 6 Plus) and cheaper alternatives (e.g. iPhone 5C and iPhone SE).
Read Also:Ā Should You Get Your iPhone XS Overseas Or In Singapore?
Here are the prices of the cheapest and most expensive option that Apple released for a series:
| Year | iPhone/Capacity | Cheapest | Most Expensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | iPhone 4 | 788 | 1,048 |
| 2011 | iPhone 4S | 948 | 1,238 |
| 2012 | iPhone 5 | 948 | 1,238 |
| 2013 | iPhone 5S | 988 | 1,288 |
| 2014 | iPhone 6 | 988 | 1,288 |
| 2015 | iPhone 6S | 1,048 | 1,388 |
| 2016 | iPhone 7 | 1,048 | 1,388 |
| 2017 | iPhone 8 | 1,148 | 1,388 |
| 2017 | iPhone X | 1,648 | 1,888 |
| 2018 | iPhone XS | 1,649 | 2,199 |
The cheapest option, iPhone XS (64GB), available now can bring you on an epic Europe trip.
iPhone Prices Increased By 109% ?!
That’s ridiculous, ain’t it! iPhone X was a 43.6% MORE EXPENSIVE than the previous version, iPhone 8.
So we picked the cheapest available iPhone option and compared the increase in prices along the years. Let us do some numbers crunching.
| Year | iPhone | Cheapest iPhone Available | Price Difference (from previous version) | Price Difference (from the FIRST version) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | iPhone 4 | 788 | - | 0% |
| 2011 | iPhone 4S | 948 | +20% | +20% |
| 2012 | iPhone 5 | 948 | 0% | +20% |
| 2013 | iPhone 5S | 988 | +4.2% | +25.4% |
| 2014 | iPhone 6 | 988 | 0% | +25.4% |
| 2015 | iPhone 6S | 1,048 | 6.1% | +33% |
| 2016 | iPhone 7 | 1,048 | 0% | +33% |
| 2017 | iPhone 8 | 1,148 | +9.5% | +45.7% |
| iPhone X | 1,648 | +43.6% | +109.1% | |
| 2018 | iPhone XS | 1,649 | +0.1% | +109.3% |
4.2% Increase in Price for the S-series iPhones
The S-series iPhones (iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S and iPhone 6S) were released when Apple adds new features WITHOUT changing the design of the phone itself. Some features that were added in the S-series iPhones were,
- iPhone 4S: Hey Siri
- iPhone 5S: Finger Print Scanner
- iPhone 6S: 3D Touch, also known as ForceĀ Touch
And yet, the prices for these S-series iPhone increased by AT LEAST 4.2%Ā from their previous version. But at least the versions AFTER the S-series show 0% increment.
Are we progressing way too fast for our pockets to catch up?
iPhone Compared to Samsung
Yes, of course, it is cheaper. Samsung did not raise their prices for every Samsung Galaxy Series for 6 years, from Samsung Galaxy SII to S7.
| Year | iPhone Model & Price | Samsung Model & Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | iPhone 4 | - |
| $788 | ||
| 2011 | iPhone 4S | Galaxy SII |
| $948 | $998 | |
| 2012 | iPhone 5 | Galaxy SIII |
| $948 | $998 | |
| 2013 | iPhone 5S | Galaxy S4 |
| $988 | $998 | |
| 2014 | iPhone 6 | Galaxy S5 |
| $988 | $998 | |
| 2015 | iPhone 6S | Galaxy S6 |
| $1,048 | $998 | |
| 2016 | iPhone 7 | Galaxy S7 |
| $1,048 | $998 | |
| 2017 | iPhone 8 | Galaxy S8 |
| $1,148 | $1,148 | |
| iPhone X | - | |
| $1,648 | ||
| 2018 | iPhone XS | Galaxy S9 |
| $1,649 | $1,198 |
*Prices extracted from Hardwarezone.
And now, the Samsung Galaxy S9 is 38% cheaper than the iPhone XS.
iPhone Prices Since Inception (Without Contract)
Here are ALL of the iPhone Prices since inception with the available storage space.
| Year | iPhone / Capacity | 8GB | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB | 256GB | 512GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | iPhone 4 | 788 | 888 | 1,048 | ||||
| 2011 | iPhone 4S | 948 | 1,088 | 1,238 | ||||
| 2012 | iPhone 5 | 948 | 1,088 | 1,238 | ||||
| 2013 | iPhone 5C | 848 | 988 | |||||
| 2013 | iPhone 5S | 988 | 1,148 | 1,288 | ||||
| 2014 | iPhone 6 | 988 | 1,148 | 1,288 | ||||
| 2014 | iPhone 6 Plus | 1,148 | 1,288 | 1,448 | ||||
| 2015 | iPhone 6S | 1,048 | 1,218 | 1,388 | ||||
| 2015 | iPhone 6S Plus | 1,218 | 1,388 | 1,558 | ||||
| 2016 | iPhone SE | 658 | 828 | |||||
| 2016 | iPhone 7 | 1,048 | 1,218 | 1,388 | ||||
| 2016 | iPhone 7 Plus | 1,248 | 1,418 | 1,588 | ||||
| 2017 | iPhone 8 | 1,148 | 1,388 | |||||
| 2017 | iPhone 8 Plus | 1,308 | 1,548 | |||||
| 2017 | iPhone X | 1,648 | 1,888 | |||||
| 2018 | iPhone XS | 1,649 | 1,889 | 2,199 | ||||
| 2018 | iPhone XS Max | 1,799 | 2,039 | 2,349 |
*Prices extracted from Hardwarezone.
Note: iPhone 3GS is excluded from this table as they were only available for purchase with a telecom plan.
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