Apple iPhone price under pressure as buyers seek cheaper devices

SAN FRANCISCO (Jan 27): Apple Inc. results next week will likely show iPhone sales growing again, bucking a year of declines. That’s the good news.

But in a sign that customers are opting for less expensive models, some analysts predict that the average selling price for the handsets likely declined over the holidays, a crucial period for Apple. Some purchasers are settling for older iPhone 6S models, rather than the iPhone 7, introduced in September, analysts said.

“Recent smartphone customers increasingly are opting for the iPhone 6S,” Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz wrote in a note to clients this week as he downgraded his recommendation on Apple stock to hold. “We detect increasing concern among industry participants that smartphones in general have evolved technologically to become more than good enough to serve most users’ digital needs over multiple years or until the device breaks.”

---

Related Stories

• Barclays to add Singapore as private bank booking centre by 2026
• Indonesia calls Apple’s US$100 mil investment offer unfair
• AI boom makes 139-year-old cable company Japan’s hottest stock

---