How Much Does The iPhone 15 Cost In Bitcoin & Ether?
The iPhone 15 costs 0.031 Bitcoin (BTC) and 0.50 Ether (ETH). Apple's recent release of the iPhone 15 has compelled us to investigate the cost of an iPhone in BTC and ETH throughout the years.
In our research, we examine historical price data of BTC and ETH, taken at the daily close on iPhone launch dates for each iPhone generation over the years, since 2011 and 2015 respectively. These prices were then mapped to the USD ($) launch price of each iPhone, to determine the equivalent amount of BTC and ETH to purchase one.
The iPhone 15 Costs 0.031 BTC in 2023, 27.1% lower than the iPhone 14
The cost of an iPhone 15 in BTC is 0.031, -27.1% lower, compared to the cost of an iPhone 14 in BTC last year (0.042 BTC). This is despite the iPhone 15 being launched at $799, the same as the iPhone 14. The lower cost of an iPhone 15 in BTC can be attributed to BTC’s rally over the past year, from $18,859 to $25,867, a gain of 37.2%.
The iPhone 15 Costs 0.50 ETH in 2023, 1.9% lower than the iPhone 14
The cost of an iPhone 15 in ETH is 0.50, or -1.9% lower, compared to an iPhone 14 in ETH in 2022. The iPhone 14 cost just over 0.51 ETH at its September 9, 2022 launch.
ETH traded at $1,595 at the launch of the iPhone 15 and was marginally lower at $1,565 during the launch of the iPhone 14 in 2022. While BTC experienced a rally since the launch of the iPhone 14 in 2022, ETH has mostly traded sideways during the same period, which resulted in an insignificant difference in iPhone cost in ETH.
iPhone Costs in BTC & ETH Have Dropped 99% Over Time
As the price of 1 BTC in USD increases, the amount of Bitcoin required to purchase an iPhone decreases.
An iPhone 4S, which retailed at $649, is equivalent to 162.2 BTC when it was first released in 2011, with BTC trading at around $4. Fast forward to 2023, the new iPhone 15 retails 23% higher at $799, which equates to 0.031 BTC – reflecting a 99.9% drop in the amount of Bitcoin required to purchase an iPhone.
This can be explained by BTC and ETH price hikes of 646,575% and 215,285%, respectively, which outpace the 23% price increase of Apple iPhones, since the 2011 iPhone 4S model.
Refer to the table below for a full breakdown of iPhone prices in BTC and ETH over time.
| The Cost of an iPhone in Bitcoin and Ether, Over The Years |
||||||
| iPhone Release Date | iPhone | iPhone Price (USD) | Bitcoin equivalent (BTC) | BTC Price | Ether equivalent (ETH) | ETH Price |
| Oct 14, 2011 | iPhone 4S | $649.00 | 162.250 | $4.00 | - | - |
| Sep 21, 2012 | iPhone 5 | $649.00 | 52.764 | $12.30 | - | - |
| Sep 20, 2013 | iPhone 5S | $649.00 | 5.048 | $128.57 | - | - |
| Sep 19, 2014 | iPhone 6 | $649.00 | 1.650 | $393.26 | - | - |
| Sep 25, 2015 | iPhone 6S | $649.00 | 2.762 | $234.98 | 876.41 ETH | $0.74 |
| Sep 16, 2016 | iPhone 7 | $649.00 | 1.070 | $606.55 | 51.83 ETH | $12.52 |
| Sep 22, 2017 | iPhone 8 | $699.00 | 0.193 | $3,622.18 | 2.65 ETH | $263.47 |
| Nov 3, 2017 | iPhone X | $999.00 | 0.138 | $7,234.74 | 3.27 ETH | $305.84 |
| Sep 21, 2018 | iPhone XS | $999.00 | 0.154 | $6,491.89 | 4.45 ETH | $224.38 |
| Sep 20, 2019 | iPhone 11 | $699.00 | 0.068 | $10,253.23 | 3.15 ETH | $221.74 |
| Nov 13, 2020 | iPhone 12 | $829.00 | 0.051 | $16,265.15 | 1.79 ETH | $462.21 |
| Sep 24, 2021 | iPhone 13 | $799.00 | 0.018 | $44,980.90 | 0.25 ETH | $3,159.27 |
| Sep 9, 2022 | iPhone 14 | $799.00 | 0.042 | $18,859.50 | 0.51 ETH | $1,564.56 |
| Sep 12, 2023 | iPhone 15 | $799.00 | 0.031 | $25,867.00 | 0.50 ETH | $1,594.97 |
Methodology
The research examines historical price data of Bitcoin and Ether on CoinGecko and Mt.Gox, taken at the daily close on iPhone launch dates for each iPhone generation over the years, from October 14, 2011 to September 12, 2023. These prices were then mapped to the USD ($) launch price of each iPhone, and then divided by its respective price data to conclude the equivalent amount of Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) to purchase one.
iPhone prices are obtained from official Apple Inc. announcements, with its 16GB (iPhone 4S to 6S), 32GB (iPhone 7), 64GB (iPhone 8 to 12), and 128 GB (iPhone 13 onwards) base models selected for the study.
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Curious to find out more about our previous research studies & statistics? Check out this one we did on the fastest-growing Layer 2 blockchains.
Julia leads Growth at CoinGecko and is passionate about onboarding more women onto Web3. That said, she is generally poor at timing the market, so she DCAs for safety. Follow the author on Twitter @ngxinyajulia
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