Apple’s Foldable iPhone to Launch With a Price Tag of Over $2,000 After Being in Development for a Decade: Report

Apple is set to host its September launch event on Wednesday (today). The launch event is expected to mark the Cupertino-based tech giant's entry into the foldable smartphone category, with the launch of its first book-style foldable globally. The upcoming smartphone has been previously spotted with multiple monikers, including iPhone Fold, iPhone Ultra, and iPhone Duo. The purported iPhone Duo is said to be the most expensive iPhone model ever. Now, a new report suggests that Apple's foldable could be even more expensive than initially anticipated. Moreover, the phone is said to launch after being in development for about 10 years.

Apple's Foldable iPhone Price, Development History (Expected)

Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports that Apple's first foldable iPhone could cost well over $2,000 (roughly Rs. 1,90,000). The tech giant was reportedly targeting $1,999 (about Rs. 1,90,000), aiming not to breach the “controversial barrier” of $2,000. The company was planning to follow a similar strategy to what it did in 2017 by pricing the iPhone X at $999 (roughly Rs. 95,000). However, that does not seem to be the case anymore.

The report highlights that Apple is now discussing pricing its first foldable iPhone at $2,199 (about Rs. 2,09,000). The company reportedly considered multiple options. However, the ongoing RAM and storage chip shortage and rising costs of components led Apple to go past the targeted pricing. On top of this, some of the configurations with higher storage capacity are said to cost near $3,000 (roughly Rs. 2,85,000).

Further, the report shares that the foldable iPhone has been in development for about a decade. Apple's core technology team was already “studying” foldable phones even before the launch of the first-generation Samsung Galaxy Z Fold in 2019. However, the development was only accelerated in 2020, when Tim Cook, former Apple CEO, reportedly returned from his trip to Asia.

Cook returned “unusually energized” about the foldable phones category, which was still fairly new in the market. During his trip, Cook reportedly saw “growing numbers” of users with foldables from Samsung and Huawei. Hence, he returned convinced that Apple needs its own foldable, pushing the company to accelerate the development of one.