Why is the iPhone 14 expensive?

When Apple introduced the first $1,000 iPhone in 2017, the internet was fascinated. In a good and a bad way. However, most thought that “this was crazy” and vouched to avoid the iPhone X like the plague. But it turns out it was mostly just a phase...

Fast forward five years later, the $,1100 iPhone 13 Pro Max is the second-best-selling phone on the planet (at least according to IDC). Apple's biggest flagship is preceded by the $800 iPhone 13, which takes the 1st spot, and ahead of the $1,000 iPhone 13 Pro, which comes up at 4th place.

Who would’ve thought! It turns out millions of people are more than happy to spare $1,000 or more for a brand new iPhone in 2022. Just like they were in 2021, and 2020, 20219, 2018... You get the point!

So, Apple listened…

According to somewhat reliable tipsters Jon Prosser, LeaksApplePro, and analyst Chris Caso, iPhone 14 prices "should" and will be increasing, making all new iPhone 14 models $100 more expensive than their iPhone 13 counterparts, save for the base iPhone 14 variant:

iPhone 14 (6.1-inch) - $799

iPhone 14 Max (6.7-inch) - $899

iPhone 14 Pro (6.1-inch) - $1,099

iPhone 14 Max Max (6.7-inch) - $1,199

So, let’s see why Apple might be increasing iPhone 14 prices; which hardware upgrades might justify the price increase and if there's a tiny, tiny chance the rumours might actually be wrong and Apple is actually gearing up for a generous year with a bigger and longer-lasting iPhone 14 Max...

iPhone 14 series price increase: Apple has a dozen reasons to make iPhone 14 more expensive

iPhone 14 Max shakes up Apple’s lineup pricing for the first time since 2017

Although there’s certainly a scenario where iPhone 14 prices stay the same as before, there are a few extremely good reasons to believe the rumors will turn out to be true.

However, knowing that the “Max” branding and model has historically been reserved for Apple’s more expensive iPhones, and that the Pro Max model is always $100 pricier than the smaller Pro iPhone, It's almost surefire that the iPhone 14 Max will have to start at $900. That’d leave the iPhone 14’s price unchanged (compared to the iPhone 13), but now the lineup would start at $800, instead of $700, which would’ve been the case if iPhone 14 mini was a thing (RIP).