Analyst says iPhone 12 will cost more even without charger and headphones

While some analysts and rumormongers are predicting that Apple will drop the price of the iPhone 12 because of the potential lack of a charger and headphones in the box, one analyst is running in the opposite direction.

Reported by MacRumors, Jeff Pu, an analyst at Chinese research firm GF Securities, is predicting that Apple will actually raise the price of the iPhone 12. The analyst says that new features such as 5G and OLED displays will drive the price of the new phone up by about $50.

In a research note provided to MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu forecasted that iPhone 12 pricing will start at $749 for a new 5.4-inch model, an increase of $50 over the base model iPhone 11 for $699. Pu said the price is primarily attributed to the addition of 5G and an OLED display on all iPhone 12 models, whereas the base iPhone 11 has an LCD.

Pu believes that, despite the rumor circulating that Apple will remove the wall charger and headphones from the box and sell those accessories separately, demand for the iPhone 12 will remain the same.

Due to 5G, Pu believes that the price increase will be "accepted by consumers" and "will not affect demand," but the move would generate controversy nonetheless if the EarPods and wall charger are removed from the box as rumored.

With a $50 increase from the iPhone 11, the base model 5.4-inch iPhone 12 would cost $749 without a charger or headphones. Apple is, however, expected to keep the lightning cable in the box that the iPhone ships with.

Other analysts and those in the rumor game have said that the 5.4-inch iPhone will start at $649, a whole $100 less than Pu's prediction. We'll have to wait until September to know for sure which direction Apple is going.