In the many years that’ve passed since the introduction of the $999 iPhone X, there have almost always been rumors of an iPhone price hike – and we’re still yet to see a major one come to fruition. Granted, there have been other minor price hikes over time. In the midst of tariffs, it seems more likely than ever that there’ll be a price hike of some sorts this year – and we’ll be discussing those rumors here today.
With the iPhone 15 Pro lineup, Apple implemented a discrete price hike – specifically on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It eliminated the 128GB storage option at $1099, requiring all customers to buy the 256GB iPhone at $1199. This was technically a price hike in the sense that you’d be paying more if you were okay with 128GB of storage. Otherwise, if you bought ahead higher storage tier already, nothing would be changing.
It’s plausible we could see that again with the iPhone 17 lineup, at least with the iPhone 17 Pro. $1099 for 256GB seems fairly likely in this climate, though that’s merely my own speculation.
Price hike rumor
One analyst suggests that Apple would increase the prices of the Slim, Pro, and Pro Max iPhones by $50 this year, leaving out the standard iPhone. That’d leave a $799 iPhone 17, $949 iPhone 17 Air, $1049 iPhone 17 Pro, and $1249 iPhone 17 Pro Max. Another leaker known as Instant Digital has also corroborated this.
With a $50 price increase, it’s rather unlikely that Apple would provide storage bumps, making the value proposition slightly worse overall. That said, with the new iPhone 17 Pro design launching this year (and hopefully some widely-appealing colors), maybe Apple doesn’t need to worry about throwing in additional storage.
I do think $949 for the iPhone 17 Air seems rather steep, given the fact that it’s currently an unproven market segment. Apple’s suppliers don’t expect it to make up a significant portion of sales volume as of now. If this one analyst is correct and the base iPhone 17 remains at $799, that could make the brand new 17 Air a much tougher sell, even with its substantially thinner and more appealing design.
Wrap up
Top comment by Blurft
That said, with the new iPhone 17 Pro design launching this year...maybe Apple doesn’t need to worry about throwing in additional storage.
Apple has a long history of using the introduction of a new product name - like "X," "Pro," "Ultra," and most recently "e" - to disguise what is effectively a price increase by pretending "oh no, this is actually something entirely new and different, so your previous expectations around pricing shouldn't apply."
Now this site is floating the idea that an incredibly minor change in where the camera flash and lidar sensor are located - a change that has absolutely no impact on usability to user experience - might be good enough to excuse a price increase? Let's not start normalizing that idea.
I do think $949 for the iPhone 17 Air seems rather steep, given the fact that it’s currently an unproven market segment.
I wouldn't be surprised by a $949 price for the Air, because I suspect Apple may want to exploit a psychological phenomenon known as the "price-quality heuristic," where consumers assume that a higher price means a higher quality.
They may also want to price it higher than $899 in order to further separate it from the standard iPhone model in consumers' minds. If it's priced too close to the standard iPhone 17, potential buyers are more likely to compare the two and realize the Air's relative shortcomings - fewer cameras, smaller battery / shorter battery life, etc.
Overall, if there’s one year for there to be an iPhone price increase, it’s probably this year. While Apple has been exempted from some of the much larger tariffs on China, they still are subject to some smaller ones. On average, tariffs are currently costing Apple nearly a billion dollars a quarter, with that impact expected to increase next quarter.
What do you think about the iPhone 17 lineup? Would you still buy it at these higher price points? Let us know in the comments.
Check out Apple’s refurbished store for major savings on like-new Apple products after the recent round of price hikes: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments