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New leak suggests iPhone 12 pricing could start as low as $649

Published Apr 30th, 2020 5:02PM EDT

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  • Leaker who revealed the iPhone SE launch date ahead of time says that the same source has told him how much the iPhone 12 models will cost.
  • The cheapest iPhone 12 will supposedly retail for $649, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max will cost $1,099.
  • This would be the first OLED iPhone to ever retail for less than $1,000.
  • Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

One of the smartest moves Apple has made in recent years was pricing the iPhone 11 at $699. Though the iPhone 11 Pro may have technically been the flagship of 2019’s iPhone slate, pricing a numbered entry of the ubiquitous product line under $1,000 paid off, and as a result, the iPhone 11 was one of the best-selling mobile devices of 2019 despite being on the market for less than four months. So why mess with success?

According to Jon Prosser, who leaked the release date of the second-generation iPhone SE earlier this month, Apple will once again start the pricing of its iPhone lineup well below $1,000 this year. In a tweet Thursday, the Front Page Tech host claimed that the cheapest iPhone 12 will cost $649 when it launches this fall. Not only would this be $50 cheaper than the iPhone 11, but it would also be the first OLED iPhone to sell for less than $999.

Prosser’s source informs him that the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 will retail for $649, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 will be priced at $749, the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro will sell for $999, and the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max will cost $1,099. He says that he received this information from the same source that told him the launch date of the 2020 iPhone SE, which doesn’t necessarily mean that this leak is correct, but does give it some added credence.

Providing these prices are correct, the entry-level iPhone 12 would be cheaper than the cheapest iPhone 11, but it’s worth noting that the 6.1-inch OLED model — the one that supposedly costs $749 — will be the device that will take the place of the iPhone 11. So while there will be an even more affordable option on store shelves this fall, it will not be the direct follow-up to the iPhone 11, which had a 6.1-inch LCD display.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Apple’s pricing strategy for the iPhone 12 lineup. Last week, UBI Research analyst and industry insider Chung-Hoon Lee predicted that the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 would retail for between $600 and $700 due to the fact that Chinese display maker BOE would be able to offer a better price for the OLED screen. Every iPhone 12 model is expected to feature 5G support and an OLED display.

If Apple does end up releasing four iPhone models this fall at the price points listed above, it would have brought five new smartphones to market in 2020 ranging from $399 (iPhone SE) to $1,099 (iPhone 12 Pro Max). If Apple’s plan is to make phones for the widest possible range of consumers, this will be the closest the company has ever come to achieving that goal. Apple just has to hope the ongoing pandemic doesn’t screw it all up.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.