During Apple's Financial Conference Call in February, a Merrill Lynch analyst asked Apple's CEO this question: Do you think that this move to sort of higher ASPs that has happened over the last few years is sustainable? Cook's reply: I wouldn't want to predict, but I would say that the smartphone for us -- the iPhone has become so integral into people's lives. It contains their contacts and their health information and their banking information and their smart home and so many different parts of their lives, their payment vehicle and -- for many people. And so I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category.

Cook's partial statement raged through the rumor mill that Apple was hinting at an iPhone Ultra model. In fact, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman chimed in on Cook's statement claiming that "the company is working toward an even higher-end Ultra model as early as 2024 as noted in his tweet below.

Power On: Apple says consumers are willing to “stretch” to get the best iPhone possible. So the company is working towards an even higher-end Ultra model for as early as 2024 in addition to adding more exclusive features to the Pro Max. https://t.co/mSVCEosOE8

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) February 5, 2023

Apple's competitors are trying to take advantage of this theory into a full Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) campaign through the Chinese/Taiwanese press in an attempt to sway the public to abandon the iPhone and seek out better valued smartphones from other brands – obviously Chinese brands. The twist begins with the premise that this very expensive iPhone Ultra is coming this year to the iPhone 15 line-up. A clear sign that this is propaganda and not factual reporting.

The report from Taiwan's United Daily News Financial segment begins with a line that punches you in the face: "Apple’s new iPhone 15 series this year, the top-of-the-line Pro Max model will cost as much as RMB 20,000 (US$2,900), which is 48% higher than the price of the current iPhone 14’s top-level version , the most expensive iPhone ever." 

The report further noted that "The top-spec iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to sell for RMB 20,000" has become a hot search keyword on the Internet in mainland China recently. The high price is jaw-dropping , many mainland netizens joked that "it's basically stealing money." "Is the new machine equipped with gold or diamonds?"

"Industry insiders estimate that the average consumer will not usually buy the top-of-the-line models. After all, not everyone needs to expand the capacity to a maximum of 2TB or more. It is expected that the impact on the overall sales of the iPhone 15 series will be quite limited. It is usually symbolic and given to specific high-consumption groups to buy, not Apple's main sales model.

In fact, consumers are more concerned about whether the prices of iPhone 15 models will rise due to inflation. If Apple chooses to raise prices, it is likely to make consumers hold back and choose other mobile phone brands that have not raised prices. Between not rising, it is indeed the most troublesome issue for mobile phone brand manufacturers at present.

The report added that "The market has recently made various speculations about the specifications of the iPhone 15. It is generally expected that the iPhone 15 will support Wi-Fi 6E technology for the first time, and the network transmission speed is expected to be fully upgraded. A major revision will help to set off a strong wave of replacements.

Among them, in terms of periscope lens, it is rumored that Apple will be the first to introduce it into the top model iPhone 15 Pro Max. This lens module may include a hybrid lens group, a parallelogram lens, two actuators (including a new spherical VCM), and a CMOS image sensor (CIS), the main supplier is Largan."

The propaganda that the iPhone 15 Ultra will sell for US$2,900 is where the lunacy began. This "message" is solely aimed at the Chinese/Taiwanese consumer to encourage them to consider Chinese brands before the iPhones are introduced in September.

Considering that Huawei's new foldable smartphone sells for about US$1,950, an iPhone 15 Pro Ultra at US$2,900 would truly be insane, unless of course, it's Apple's secret 007 version.  Just in case you think that I'm joking, check out the full UDN report here.