The £2,800 iPhone
Apple launches gadget for £999 ... but contract deals can nearly treble the cost
APPLE’S latest iPhone has smashed through the £ 1,000 mark, but that didn’t stop long queues forming at its worldwide launch yesterday.
The iPhone X starts at £999 for the 64GB standard model, rising to £1,149 for the 256GB version. Some owners will pay more than £2,800 for packages on contract deals.
Despite the cost, people queued at Apple stores across the world yesterday, on the tenth anniversary of the launch of the first iPhone. One of the first in line at London’s Regent Street store was Marco Pierre White Jr, son of the Michelin- star chef.
The reality TV star, 22, was pictured in a hoodie and covered in blankets as he queued up to buy one for his girlfriend.
The iPhone X is the first Apple smartphone to feature facial recognition technology, known as Face ID, which is used to unlock the device. It is also the first to have an edge-to-edge OLED screen, allowing more vivid colours.
Most handsets today are bought on the basis of a 24month package, which spreads the cost but also puts up the final bill.
For example, the £999 handset rises to £1,150 on a 24month deal with Apple and the £ 1,149 one goes up to £1,323. The Three mobile network has gone even further with the launch of a twoyear package at an eye-watering £117 a month – a total of £2,808. This includes unlimited data and talk time, but the cost has been described as ‘crazy’ on social media.
Consumer expert Helen Dewdney, who runs The Complaining Cow website, questioned Apple’s prices, adding: ‘For crying out loud, who on earth pays this sort of money for a phone?
‘Aside from the fact that I think people are crazy spending that sort of money on a phone, they could be inviting other problems. Last month a Home Office report showed that mobile phone theft rose to over 700,000 in the last year. It showed that children under 15 were the most common victims. Recent research also showed that children will lose more than 1,000 items throughout their school years so parents would do well to think on that.
‘Check your contents insurance as to whether it covers your phone outside of the house. It probably doesn’t.’
Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at uSwitch.com, said: ‘Judging by pre-orders, many see the iPhone X as being worth every penny. But it’s well worth doing your research before you hand over hardearned cash.
‘Purchasing the handset outright can significantly lower the total cost of ownership and when paired with a decent sim- only deal you could see overall savings total hundreds.’
He added: ‘It stands to reason that if you’re going to be carrying something around in your pocket that’s twice the price of a brand- new TV, you’re going to want to pro- tect it. Insurance can help give peace of mind.’
Sales of the iPhone X will super- charge the profits at Apple, which is already the richest corporation in the world in terms of stock market value at a staggering £663billion.
Apple has a history of charging British consumers more and the iPhone X is no different. In the US, the standard iPhone X is $999 (£763) and the 256GB version is $1,148 (£878). Apple blames the differences in sales tax and the cost of doing business.