iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone X Discontinued by Apple in the US

Apple launched the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max at its event in Cupertino, alongside the Apple Watch Series 4. However, what's interesting is that it has stopped selling the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and the iPhone X in the US. The three devices are not listed on the Apple Store anymore, and have been discontinued. While the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s family's discontinuations are understandable, given their age, the iPhone X discontinuation is possibly due to the three new models with almost the same design and price range, making last year's anniversary device redundant. In India, only the iPhone SE has been discontinued for now, while the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are available at lower prices, as is the iPhone X.

Every year, after its annual iPhone event, Apple discontinues old generation phones, and drops the prices of last-gen phones. It dropped the prices of the iPhone 7, and iPhone 8 series, but has decided to discontinue the iPhone X altogether. The iPhone X may not have sold in volume, but it did reportedly generate a considerable amount of revenue for Apple, given its high ASP. Of course, the iPhone X discontinuation doesn't come entirely as a surprise, with several analysts predicting this turn of events as far back as January this year, citing supply chain issues.

In the US, the new iPhone XS has the same starting price as the iPhone X at launch. Customers would opt for the latest device with all the internal upgrades, and reducing the price of the iPhone X would hit Apple's profit margins as well, as the component prices likely may not have dropped that much. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for Apple to stop selling the iPhone X altogether.

iPhone 7 price has been dropped to start at $449 (roughly Rs. 32,200), and the iPhone 7 Plus is now priced starting at $569 (roughly Rs. 40,900). The iPhone 8 is now priced starting at $599 (roughly Rs. 43,100), and the iPhone 8 Plus is now priced starting at $699 (roughly Rs. 50,200).

Coming to the new iPhones - the iPhone XR price in India starts at Rs. 76,900 for the 64GB storage variant, going up to Rs. 81,900 for the 128GB variant, and Rs. 91,900 for the 256GB variant. iPhone XS price in India starts at Rs. 99,900 for the 64GB variant and goes up to Rs. 1,14,900 and Rs. 1,34,900 for the 256GB and 512GB variants, respectively. Likewise, buyers will have to shell to Rs. 1,09,900, Rs. 1,24,900, and Rs. 1,44,900 for the 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options of the iPhone XS Max, respectively.

In the US, the 64GB variant of the iPhone XR has been priced at $749 (roughly Rs. 53,900), the 128GB variant has been priced at $799 (roughly Rs. 57,500), and the 256GB variant has been priced at $899 (roughly Rs. 64,700). The iPhone XS in the US comes with a price tag of $999 (roughly Rs. 71,800) for the 64GB variant, $1,149 (roughly Rs. 82,600) for the 256GB variant, and $1,349 (roughly Rs. 97,000) for 512GB. The iPhone XS Max has a starting price of $1,099 (roughly Rs. 79,000) for the 64GB variant, $1,249 (roughly Rs. 89,800) for the 256GB variant, and $1,449 (1,04,200) for the 512GB variant.

The iPhone XR will be available for pre-orders starting October 19, while its shipments will begin from October 26 in over 50 countries and territories, including India. The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max will go up for pre-orders September 14, and ships from September 21 for the first wave of launch countries. In India, it will become available from September 28.

Will Apple ever launch reasonably priced iPhones in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.