Will The Apple iPhone 8 Cost Be Worth It?

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Flagship smartphones are not cheap. They never have been and they likely never will be. However, rumors about the Apple iPhone 8 cost has some people wondering if the much-anticipated new device is entering a territory that will turn off many consumers. After all, most of us are operating on some sort of budget when it comes to tech gear. How high are you willing to take that budget? Can you forego some other purchases in order to accommodate the Apple iPhone 8 cost? These are all questions that many Apple fans may likely be asking themselves once the launch of the newest iPhone arrives in the fall.

Aside from whether we have enough money to drop on a new smartphone, we have to ask if the Apple iPhone 8 cost will even be worth it. There’s no debate that Apple will release a polished, feature-filled smartphone that will catch the eye of tech enthusiasts everywhere. However, with rumors that the Apple iPhone 8 cost could exceed $1,000, you have to question just exactly which features will help consumers justify such a significant bump in price.

For the sake of comparison, let’s look at some competing flagship smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S8 starts at about $725. That’s about $300 less than the rumored iPhone 8 price. The Galaxy S8 is no slouch in the feature department, either. With a QHD+ Infinity Display, the Galaxy S8 has arguably the best smartphone display currently available on the market. The iPhone 8 is rumored to be launching with a beautiful OLED display which will likely challenge the Galaxy S8 for top spot in the screen rankings, but will it be worth $300+ more?

Siri vs Bixby is a debate that may include some personal preferences. Both complete many of the same tasks. Again, you have to ask that if having Siri by your side is an advantage worth several hundred dollars? We could comb through the feature list of the Galaxy S8 and compare them with the expected features coming in the iPhone 8 all day. Of course, the iPhone 8 has a rumored fingerprint sensor embedded underneath the display as well as 3D face scanning. iOS 11 will unlock some new features like the ability for users to send money to each other through Apple Pay by simply sending an iMessage. A great feature for sure, but does it justify the Apple iPhone 8 cost?

The features of iOS 11 also bring up another point of comparison: the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple’s current top dog. The device is only coming up on one year of age so it’s not like the iPhone 7 Plus is some outdated, clunky piece of hardware. In fact, if the features of iOS 11 are the most exciting features that you’re looking forward to, the iPhone 7 Plus will be more than enough. Right now, the iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769. That price would likely drop once the iPhone 8 is officially announced. Of course, there will be some new hardware features on the iPhone 8 but the software features in iOS 11 will largely be the same. So, if you can still take advantage of the cool new iOS features with the iPhone 7 Plus, will there be enough new hardware features justify the significant increase to the Apple iPhone 8 cost?

Of course, all of this money talk is subjective. $1,000 to one person may not seem like a lot for the latest flagship smartphone while $1,000 may be a week or two weeks of pay for another person. The value of a dollar may not be the same for me as it is for you.

The rumored Apple iPhone 8 cost also brings up another question: does this mark a new trend in flagship smartphone pricing? Are $800 smartphones going to become $1,000 smartphones over the next few years? A lot of that will depend on how well the iPhone 8 performs once it finally hits the retail market. We can debate whether the Apple iPhone 8 cost is worth it but the real answer will come when Apple looks at their bottom line. And you better believe that companies like Samsung, LG, and Google will be watching closely as well. If people are willing to pay over $1,000 for a smartphone then companies will gladly collect that money.

The flip side to that is the potential for consumers to balk at the huge price tag. The rumored features coming in the iPhone 8 are interesting, for sure. However, none of those features are enough to have our jaws hitting the floor. Many upcoming features are already available in competing smartphones that cost substantially less. The Apple iPhone 8 cost may finally be what it takes for consumers to look to a new brand, or simply stay with their existing iPhone and wait out one more release cycle.

So, back to the original question: will the Apple iPhone 8 cost be worth it? The answer really boils down to how you value a dollar. A high-powered corporate lawyer is more likely to have $1,000 in disposable income than, say, a tech writer. Will Apple be able to offer enough features to convince consumers that their smartphone is worth $300 or more than offerings from Samsung and Google? Will people want to upgrade from their trusty iPhone 7 Plus? With Apple’s expected official announcement of the iPhone 8 coming soon, we won’t have to wait long to find out. The iPhone 8 will either be a roaring success that changes the smartphone market forever; or it will be an expensive example of where consumers are willing to draw the line.

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