We could be just around a month away from the official announcement of Apple’s long-rumored iPhone 9. Ahead of that unveil, rumors continue to circle around the device’s pricing and how it will fit into Apple’s lineup. This week, a new report from Fast Company corroborates that the iPhone 9 price will start at $399.

iPhone 9 price:

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had previously predicted that the iPhone 9 will start at $399, following the precedent set by the iPhone SE in 2016. Fast Company’s report this week doubles down on that starting price, citing its own sources near the iPhone supply chain.

The iPhone SE was positioned at the low-end of Apple’s iPhone lineup, starting at $399 with 16GB of storage. It was unique at the time for offering specifications of the then-modern iPhone lineup, but in a smaller form factor. Apple now appears to be mimicking that strategy this year with the rumored iPhone 9.

The iPhone 9 is expected to feature a 4.7-inch display, which is bigger than the iPhone SE, but smaller than the flagship iPhone 11 lineup. It’s also expected to be powered by Apple’s latest A13 processor, which guarantees iOS updates for many years down the line. In terms of design, we expect an iPhone 8-style body with Touch ID.

For that $399 iPhone 9 starting price, Kuo has predicted that you’ll get 64GB of storage. For comparison’s sake, Apple still sells the 64GB iPhone 8 for $449. Essentially, the iPhone 9 will get improved performance and the same amount of storage, but for $50 cheaper. This week’s report from Fast Company doesn’t detail storage capacities.

What’s Apple’s logic behind the iPhone 9? With its new focus on Services, such as Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, Apple has a major incentive to keep as many iPhone users on the latest version of iOS as possible. An iPhone 9 priced at $399 could be a major incentive for those still using devices like iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to upgrade to a device capable of running iOS 13.

What do you think of the iPhone 9 rumors so far? Do you buy into Apple’s strategy? Let us know down in the comments. Keep up with everything we know about the iPhone 9 in our full roundup of features, pricing, and more right here.

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