Apple Claims It Does Not Want To Become An Elitist Company As Its Phone Prices Continue To Rise

On Feb 22, Jeff Williams, Apple's COO gave a speech to Elon University students in North Carolina. He claimed that he did not want Apple to become an "elitist" company because the cost of its products was too expensive.

According to previous reports, the cost of Apple to produce iPhones is much lower than its actual selling price. Therefore, a university student asked Jeff Williams if the company had any plans on lowering the price of their expensive products.

Williams then responded:

He said that the company is also aware of the escalating prices of their products, making it difficult to reach markets where most of the consumers have low incomes. For instance, Apple only accounts for 3% of the smartphone market in India.

William continued:

Recently, Tim Cook has explained to the analysts about the reason why the company has not focused so much on developing markets. Currently, there are many users who tend to keep their old Apple phones a bit longer than before. This led to a decrease in iPhone sales in developing countries by 15% last year.

After some signs showing that Apple wants to adjust the price of iPhones in countries outside the US, analysts are expecting a more affordable price for consumers.

The average selling price of smartphones has increased to $763 (equivalent to 27%) since 2010. It can be said, iPhone X contributes a significant part in this figure with the original price of $1,000 at its launching.