Leaker claims iPhone 12 will start at $649, iPhone 12 Pro won't get price hike

Leaker Jon Prosser has been very busy this year. After accurately leaking the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and most recently, the new iPhone SE, Prosser is now setting his sights on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. His latest claim: the iPhone 12 will start at $649.

$649 would be for the entry-level iPhone 12 with a 5.4-inch OLED display, two rear cameras, and 5G. A larger version of the iPhone 12 with a 6.1-inch screen and the same specs could cost $749.

Moving on to the iPhone 12 Pro, Prosser says 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch "Pro Max" could cost $999 and $1,099, respectively, for OLED, a triple-lens camera system, a new LiDAR scanner, and 5G.

Can you trust this leak? — Maybe. Prosser says the pricing information comes from the "same sources that nailed the iPhone SE launch date." In a follow-up tweet, Prosser noted: "The 6.1” iPhone 12 is obviously a follow-up to the current $700 6.1” iPhone 11 - so technically, the 6.1” 12 model is increasing in price."

Prosser's sources may have been correct about the iPhone SE, but it may still be too early for Apple to have locked in pricing for its next flagships. Apple isn't expected to announce the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro until September. Reports suggest production setbacks due to COVID-19 could push the release of the iPhone 12 Pro to a later release, similar to the staggered iPhone 8 and iPhone X release in 2017.

This pricing is — let me remind you — just a leak / rumor. Even the most well-sourced leakers have been incorrect before. Up until the last hour, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the iPhone 11 would come with reverse wireless charging. That leak never came to fruition.

But if the pricing is correct, we're going to see Apple hit more price points. At $399, the new iPhone SE already blows away the competition in the sub-$500 smartphone category. A $649 iPhone 12 would fill in the mid-range segment of the mobile market Apple has happily not competed in, but is now the epicenter of a burst of innovation.

New year, new look — After three years of essentially the same iPhone X design, Apple is reportedly going to switch things up the iPhone 12. A number of rumors from reputable analysts and leakers point to an iPad Pro-like design with flat sides, a smaller notch, maybe a Smart Connector, and 5G.

Nailing pricing will be key. The iPhone 11 bagged second best-selling smartphone for 2019, according to Counterpoint Research, largely, due to its $699 price, which was $50 less than the $749 the iPhone XR launched at. The top-selling smartphone of last year was the iPhone XR, an older device Apple kept in its lineup at a reduced $599. So clearly, people love value-conscious iPhones.

Pricing is especially crucial due to the coronavirus pandemic. With over 30 million Americans now unemployed, a pricey iPhone probably isn't going to attract the usual set of rabid consumers, even if there's a revamped design.