"We always try to keep our prices as low as possible," says Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with German publication Stern to talk about the new iPhones and the Apple TV+ service. This was during a visit at the Blinkist office, a Berlin-based startup that summarizes non-fiction books. However, the conversation wasn’t just about the new app, it kept coming back to Apple’s pricing strategy.

“We always try to keep our prices as low as possible and fortunately we were able to lower the price of the iPhone this year”, said Cook. Indeed, the iPhone 11 is €800, €50 down from the price of the XR last year.

Also, TV+ is €5 a month compared to Netflix’s cheapest plan at €8 (this one doesn’t even include HD video). However, Cook doesn’t believe Netflix is afraid of Apple’s new service as video streaming isn’t a “winner takes all” deal – instead, many subscribe to several services and Apple wants TV+ to be one of them.

Cook also talked about a potential future issue for his company. Elizabeth Warren, who is a candidate for the US presidency, wants to break up large tech companies. The company is also facing pressure from the US Supreme Court, which says it has monopolized the app market on iOS.

However, Cook says “No reasonable person would ever call Apple a monopolist” and points out that people can access content through their browser without approval from Apple (which tries to curate content to make the App Store a “trustworthy place to buy apps”).

“We have 30 to 40 apps - versus more than two million others,” says Cook and compares Apple to a supermarket that sells own-branded products alongside mass market items.

Source (in German)