Apple's pricey iPhone X gets a befitting $99 case

By Daniel Petrov

Sep 19, 2017, 3:59 PM

Apple iPhone X Leather Folio

Needless to say, $999 is a lot to splurge on a phone, but it seems that flagship prices closing in on a grand are becoming the norm this year, rather than the exception, judging by the best and brightest that Apple or Samsung have to offer. The unique new iPhone X costs a thousand, for Apple has to recoup the development expenses and component costs that go with it, and even then it will be left with a slimmer profit than usual, say Wall Street analysts.

So, what's a phone maker to do when it's not hitting the usual hearty gross margin on the iPhone X, as it does with the iPhone 7 or 8? Well, bet on accessorizing, it seems. Right now, Apple has three official cases listed on its site for the iPhone X, and two of them cost more than the corresponding cases for the iPhone 8.

Given that the iPhone 7 and 8 cases are interchangeable, that's not hard to imagine, yet it's the third, brand new case line for the iPhone X that caught our attention. Apple dubs it the iPhone X Leather Folio, and it is capable of waking up your phone each time you open it, plus it offers discrete compartments for cards, notes or bills. The new folio is made of "specially tanned and finished European leather for a luxurious look and feel."

The pricing? Well, it's $99, fitting like a glove on your $999 phone. For comparison, case makers like Mujjo offer full-grain vegetable-tanned European leather folios for the iPhone X at half the price, and the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus leather cases are also $49. These are no folios, though.

source: Apple