Rumor has it that Apple (APPL) AAPL +1.5% will release its cheapest ever top-tier phone this fall.
Influential tech magazine Tom’s Guide recently posted a leak claiming iPhone 12 will retail starting at $549. That’s almost half of what Apple charged for iPhone X a few years ago.
The leak came shortly after Apple released its second “budget” phone, iPhone SE, which sells for $399. That’s a hundred bucks less than the first iPhone.
This raises the question: Why is the most premium tech product maker all of a sudden selling itself short? As I’ll show in a moment, Apple’s business is entering a new era where iPhone profits won’t matter anymore.
Low price tags might seem like a desperate move to fend off competition. But like a chess master plotting several moves ahead, Apple is using cheap phones to seize what Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, calls the “mother of all opportunities.”
