Upcoming anniversary iPhone could set buyers back upward of $1000

Speculators are still debating whether the anniversary iPhone will be called the iPhone 8 or the more dramatic iPhone X. (Source: Fast Company)

The new OLED screen that stretches across the entire front of the phone is the primary reason for the price hike, sources say, as it may be costing Apple twice as much as the LCD used in current iPhones.

Isaac Brown, 02/09/2017

Based on the deluge of rumors that have come out in past months about the next iPhone, consumers are expecting more radical changes for the successor to the iPhone 7. A source has said that this special iPhone, marking the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone, will be pricier than the last with a price tag that will exceed $1000. For comparison, a fully-upgraded iPhone 7 Plus costs $969 in the US and €1119 for Europeans ($1193).

According to the source, Apple will increase the price tag of the phones to compensate for improved hardware like the edge-to-edge OLED screen, touch-sensitive inlays instead of physical buttons on the sides, and other technology like face recognition. The OLED panel is the primary reason for the increased price, the source said. Producing the panels is a complex process and only a few companies like Samsung and Sharp have the capacity to fulfill Apple’s bulk order.

None of these features have been confirmed yet. The OLED screen seems highly likely to be present in the next iPhone, as Apple ordered 100 million 5.5-inch OLED panels last year that people originally speculated would be appearing in the iPhone 7S. This was further reinforced by an Apple SEC filing in November that revealed a long-term OLED sourcing contract with a total cost of around $4 billion.