CNET

The new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are expensive, but Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks innovation is worth it.

"We want to make an iPhone for everyone," Cook said during an interview Tuesday with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. Cook was touting Apple's newest iPhones and also defending their high prices. The iPhone XS starts at $999, while the iPhone XS Max starts at $1,099 and goes up to $1,449 for the 512GB version.

FULL INTERVIEW: @RobinRoberts is with @tim_cook to talk about the brand new iPhone and Apple Watch--plus they love the new Memoji feature. https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/BpDyoANSES — Good Morning America (@GMA) September 18, 2018

"The way most people pay for these, as it turns out, is they do a deal with their carrier and they pay so much per month," said Cook. "Even the phone that's priced over $1,000, most people pay about $30 a month for it. So about $1 a day."

Cook touched on several topics during the GMA interview, including the US trade war with China. Some Apple products, including the Apple Watch and AirPods, are reportedly being spared in the Trump administration's next round of tariffs on Chinese goods. Cook said on GMA that although the products are assembled in China, the parts come from many places, including the US.

He amped up the patriotic message, saying that Apple, which in August became a trillion-dollar company, "could only be created in America." Cook said Apple has created 2 million jobs in the US and is investing $350 billion there in the next five years.

Elsewhere on the product side, Cook mentioned the new health monitoring features on Apple Watch Series 4 including fall detection and electrocardiogram (EKG) capabilities. The interview also touched on topics ranging from Memoji to iOS 12, which was released on Monday.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Correction, Sept. 19 at 6:02 a.m. PT: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect price for the 512GB version of the iPhone XS Max. It costs $1,449.

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