MANILA, PHILIPPINES — It’s that time of the year again. Apple just came out with its newest iPhone and it’s officially hitting Philippine stores on October 22. The iPhone 13 is said to have spectacular specs that have never been seen before, which is probably what justifies its selling price of Php 57,990 for the 256GB model.
Nonetheless, it’s still a huge price to pay, especially since data from Numbeo shows that the average net salary of Filipinos (after tax) is only Php 15,063/month. That said, should interested buyers just wait until the price drops? And if so, how long?
In addition to personal budget woes, there’s a plethora of varying tech reviews that leave consumers indecisive about upgrading. To help with their decision, iPrice Group has conducted a study that will determine the iPhone 13’s unique selling points and the best time to purchase the smartphone.
You can save up to Php6,959 if you wait six months
After observing the average historical prices of previous iPhone models from their database, which houses billions of products, iPrice predicts that the iPhone 13’s price will drop by 12% after six months and 13% after a year. Consumers will save about Php6,959 after six months and Php7,539 after a year.
With this data, iPrice Group suggests that six months is enough of a wait. Waiting a whole year to buy the latest iPhone may not be worth it since the potential price drop would not be that significant, with a difference of only 1%. However, every peso may count for some people. It is still a Php580 difference.
According to Money Supermarket’s research, Filipinos will have to work for 97 days (a little more than three months) to be able to afford the iPhone 13. Thus, purchasing the iPhone 13 after six months, especially with the price drop, may just be plausible.
All this for the iPhone 13, yet it’s not a surprise that consumers would go to such lengths to get their hands on the latest Apple product. After all, Apple is one of the top leading brands of the tightly competitive market. But are iPhone 13’s specs really that unique and worth it? How different is it from other smartphones and Apple’s previous models?
What sets the iPhone 13 apart?
iPrice also determined the actual unique selling point of iPhone 13 by using data from GSM Arena. Their research found that iPhone 13’s battery (A15 bionic and an 11% larger battery), impressive cameras (12MP, larger sensor-shift stabilization, etc.), and remarkable screen performance (color accuracy and proMotion) are actually exclusive to this model, meaning no other smartphone holds this feature.
Apple introduces the iPhone 13’s 120hz refresh rate as well, but this was already available in Razer since 2017, and Samsung, their main competitor, has been offering this feature since Galaxy S20+ in 2020.
Now, it’s all up to consumers to decide whether these upgrades are worth the wait and money. Hopefully, this research would be enough to help them make their decision.
