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Apple hints at cunning plan to make you spend even more on an iPhone

Michael Allison
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Apple hinted at plans to debut a more expensive line of phones soon, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, just in case the current range isn’t quite as expensive as you’d like. If accurate, a new type of iPhone will start rolling out this year as the company reorganizes its smartphone lineup after the commercial failures of the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini models, as well as that of the iPhone 14 Plus.

The report comes from a statement by Apple CEO Tim Cook during an investment earnings call last week. Cook noted that Apple’s customers were more likely to pay more for higher-specification iPhones than ever before, saying: “I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.” Gurman connects this to earlier reports of a so-called iPhone 15 Ultra that’s rumored to supplement the iPhone lineup in the future.

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While Samsung may seem to have a monopoly on the Ultra name when it comes to phones, don’t forget Apple offers the Apple Watch Ultra. Expanding the name to the iPhone range isn’t that much of a stretch, and following Apple’s adoption of flagship phone features like high-resolution cameras, high refresh rate displays, and an always-on display, pushing the specification even higher with an Ultra-style phone makes sense too.

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Though Apple’s Pro Max line of iPhones has always competed with the likes of the Galaxy 21 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra, many other brands push the tech envelope with Ultra- or Pro Plus-branded models, including Vivo, Xiaomi, Redmi, and  Realme.

These all join multiple inexpensive phones priced to appeal to as many customers as possible, but Cook notes that Apple’s customers are often prepared to pay more for the most expensive iPhones. This has already been made clear as the largest, most expensive iPhones have dominated sales, and it’s something that’s also backed up by Samsung too. The company told Digital Trends in a recent interview that the Galaxy S22 Ultra made up 40% of global S22 series sales.

It may not be long until we see how this pans out. If the new Ultra iPhone really is coming, it’ll likely arrive with the iPhone 15 later this year.

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