CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple’s product launches have long been full of surprises, but rarely has a price cut been among them.

On Tuesday, in a sign that Apple is paying attention to consumers who aren’t racing to buy more expensive phones, the company said the iPhone 11, its entry-level phone, would start at $700, compared with $750 for the comparable model last year.

Apple kept the starting prices of its more advanced models, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, at $1,000 and $1,100. The company unveiled the new phones at a 90-minute press event at its Silicon Valley campus.

The cost cut on the iPhone 11 was unexpected because Apple had been raising prices each year as a way to keep revenues afloat while iPhone sales fell. But Apple might have hit the ceiling this past year. Sales of the two models that began at $1,000 or more lagged expectations, causing the company to cut revenue estimates and eventually slash prices in China to increase demand.