This year marks the iPhone’s decade-long dominance of the mobile phone industry. Apple is expected to beef up the so-called iPhone 8 with new enhancements, but the new features may influence the iconic handset’s pricing, which could skyrocket to iPad-like levels.

Apple’s upcoming iPhone goes by a couple of unofficial names: the iPhone 8 and the iPhone Edition. It’s expected to be the first Apple smartphone to include an OLED display among its plethora of other projected features, ones that have never been seen from previous iPhone generations.

Such innovations equate to one thing: expenditures. Premium specs mean premium pricing. And a new report states that Apple is bound to sell the iPhone 8 / Edition variants at staggering prices, the kind of numbers that are applicable to iPads.

UBS specialist Steven Milunovich believes that an iPhone 8 / Edition base model, one with 64 GB storage, could start selling at US$850 (AU$1,130). Rival Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S8, falls on the same range at US$840 (AU$1,115). According to the analyst, starting the upcoming iPhone variants’ rates under US$1,000 (AU$1,330) is part of the Cupertino, California-based tech titan’s “mainstream luxury” pricing strategy.

Milunovich likewise thinks that the iPhone 8 / Edition’s 5.8-inch display “will be competing at a screen size disadvantage” compared to that of the South Korean electronics giant’s Galaxy S8 Plus, which has a 6.2-inch display. That is why, according to the specialist, Apple may take the same route as Samsung when it comes to the new iPhone’s pricing. Milunovich believes that the iPhone 8 / Edition 256 GB variant could carry a price tag between US$950 (AU$1,260) and US$1,000 (AU$1,330), potentially making the Apple handset the first commercial smartphone in its home country to carry a four-figure number.

“Contrary to some perceptions, Apple prices quite competitively,” states Milunovich’s most recent research note as quoted by MacRumors. “Apple likes to position its entry-level products at the mid-market with ‘Pro/Plus’ products close to competitors at the high end. Therefore, we do not think Apple will stray far from the price point of Samsung’s most expensive model at US$840 (AU$1,115) to US$850 (AU$1,130) and will keep the entry OLED model at US$850 (AU$1,130) to US$900 (AU$). Apple’s 256 GB OLED model could be US$950 (AU$1,260) to US$1,000 (AU$1,330), but the 256 GB [iPhone] 7 Plus already is US$970 (AU$1,290).”

This isn’t the first time that the iPhone 8 / Edition’s projected pricing has been mentioned. A slew of previous reports have already suggested that Apple’s tenth anniversary smartphone could reach a four-digit price tag. Milunovich’s latest research note only echoes the same sentiment.

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