It’s official: The iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone to date. Starting at $999, the iPhone X is basically the price of two original iPhones.
Smartphone prices have been on the rise for years, and Apple’s announcements today are merely the latest example of this trend. There are a variety of reasons behind these price increases, with the biggest one of course being increasing costs (more premium materials, more features, and more research and development). The debate over whether or not the increases are warranted will never cease, so we figured we would add some fuel to the fire.
Here are all 11 generations of iPhones and their base prices (that’s the cheapest version with the lowest amount of storage) upon launch:
- iPhone (4GB): $499
- iPhone 3G (8GB): $599
- iPhone 3GS (16GB): $599
- iPhone 4 (16GB): $599
- iPhone 4S (16GB): $649
- iPhone 5 (16GB): $649
- iPhone 5s (16GB): $649
- iPhone 6 (16GB): $649
- iPhone 6 Plus (16GB): $749
- iPhone 6s (16GB): $649
- iPhone 6s Plus (16GB): $749
- iPhone 7 (32GB): $649
- iPhone 7 Plus (32GB): $769
- iPhone 8 (64GB): $699
- iPhone 8 Plus (64GB): $799
- iPhone X (64GB): $999
These figures are for the U.S. and without a contract, where possible. They do not include price cuts, discounts, or other storage capacities that came after each model’s initial debut. Apple has released a variety of cheaper versions of its phones, including the iPhone 5c and iPhone SE, but also many existing models in yet another storage option. This list only covers completely new phones.
We’re also not accounting for inflation. $499 in 2007 is closer to $599 in today’s money.
And just for the sake of being comprehensive, here are the most expensive versions of each iPhone you could buy at launch:
- iPhone (8GB): $599
- iPhone 3G (16GB): $699
- iPhone 3GS (32GB): $699
- iPhone 4 (32GB): $699
- iPhone 4S (64GB): $849
- iPhone 5 (64GB): $849
- iPhone 5s (64GB): $849
- iPhone 6 (128GB): $849
- iPhone 6 Plus (128GB): $949
- iPhone 6s (128GB): $849
- iPhone 6s Plus (128GB): $949
- iPhone 7 (256GB): $849
- iPhone 7 Plus (256GB): $969
- iPhone 8 (256GB): $849
- iPhone 8 Plus (256GB): $949
- iPhone X (256GB): $1,149
Yes, you really are paying that much more for all that extra storage. Depending on your country and carrier, you were naturally exposed to different pricing as the company you interacted with saw fit.
