Whether it’s the iPhone, Mac, or iPad, there’s no denying that Apple products are sought after. With the holidays coming up, people everywhere are looking to buy an Apple product for someone or asking for an Apple product themselves. But Apple has been slowly raising its prices over the past few years, so is it a good time to buy these devices? Will this affect the average consumers? The prices of Apple products have been on the rise in the past few years, and there’s no doubt about it. In 2016, the iPhone 7 Plus, with 256 gigabytes of storage, was Apple’s best and most expensive iPhone. It set consumers back $969. But in 2018, the best iPhone XS Plus with 512 gigabytes of storage, will cost a staggering $1,449. While not everyone will be buying the most expensive iPhone, even the “cheaper” options are getting price bumps. The base model iPhone 7 with a mere 32 gigabytes of storage cost $649 in 2016. However in 2018, the iPhone XR starts at $749, a whole $100 more, and Apple even markets it as the “cheap” iPhone. On the Mac side, the Macbook Air has seen a price increase very recently. The older model started at $999, which was Apple’s cheapest Macbook, but is now $200 more at $1,200. It’s no secret that Apple is raising these prices, but why are they doing it? Well there were only 50.8 million iPhone 7’s sold when it was Apple’s best phone, opposed to the 51.2 million that were sold in the year before, according to Engadget. That downward trend will most likely continue. In order for Apple to make its money back, they will need to raise their prices because all companies need to make money.

What would this mean for the consumers of Apple products? Well according to Sophomore Dominik Jasinskas, the price changes won’t affect his decision to own Apple products. However, Junior Luke Turner claims that Apple’s price raises are “wack” and even though he would consider going from his android phone to an iPhone, the prices aren’t appealing. Using a recent Instagram poll that collected information about kids in the King County Area, 89% of participants owned an iPhone and 84% of participants owned an Apple product besides the iPhone. But the most interesting statistic is that 88% of people claimed they would still buy Apple’s products with the knowledge that the prices are getting higher. One explanation for this could be the stigma around Apple products. Everyone knows that these items are of high quality and worth, so they are desired by most. Jasinskas claims that owning an iPhone makes students cooler, while Turner says that students just buy the products for the brand. So to answer the question, it probably won’t affect the consumer very much if they want the products for the brand name.

As someone who has owned Apple products for as long as they can remember, it’s hard to imagine a life without them. Apple knows its consumers feel this way and are taking advantage of them. They feel premium and the students were very correct in saying that owning Apple products makes you feel and seem “cooler”. But will people like myself smarten up and realize that there are other brands besides Apple? Time will tell.