Apple May Hike iPhone Prices For First Time Since 2017

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup on September 9, with pre-orders likely to open later that week—consistent with the company’s usual early-September launch cycle. However, this year’s release may come with a notable deviation from the norm: according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is considering its first iPhone price increase since the debut of the iPhone X in 2017.

Sources familiar with the upcoming iPhone lineup told WSJ that CEO Tim Cook is expected to steer clear of linking any potential price increases to the ongoing U.S.-China tariff dispute. While most of Apple’s devices are still manufactured in China, the company has steadily shifted iPhone production to India to mitigate tariffs and potential supply chain snarls. 

Positive news emerged earlier, with the US and China agreeing to limit tariffs, including reducing levies on Chinese goods entering the US from 145% to 30%. This 90-day cool-off period will allow both economic superpowers to move forward and attempt to strike a resolution to end or at least continue de-escalating the trade war. 

The people said Apple’s most profitable, high-end phones, such as the Pro and Pro Max models, will still be produced in China. They pointed out that Indian production lines are still incapable of mass-producing Pro models. 

Jefferies estimates that approximately 65 million iPhones were sold in the US market last year, 36 to 39 million of which were Pro or Pro Max models. 

Apple hasn’t raised iPhone pricing since the X debuted in 2017, keeping prices at a $999 ceiling. The sources did not indicate future pricing for the models.

Via Apple Club…

Here’s more from WSJ:

These circumstances have led Apple to look at what supply-chain insiders described as the least-bad choice: raising prices on the new iPhones to preserve profit and finding reasons other than tariffs to explain the move. It couldn’t be determined what new features Apple may offer to help justify price increases.

Apple traditionally rolls out new models of its iPhones in the fall. If it follows convention, this fall’s models will be known as the iPhone 17 lineup. Current iPhone models range from the base model iPhone 16, which starts at $799, to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which costs $1,199 and up.

It’s clear that Apple can’t put a premium on Apple Intelligence because it has so far been a bust…

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In Trump’s first term, Tim Cook lobbied the administration to exempt some of its devices from tariffs. Before the trade war broke out earlier this year, Cook visited the White House.

“By the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027, we are optimistic that India will be capable of meeting both the U.S. and India’s demand, but China will still be important” for sourcing components, Abhilash Kumar, an analyst with tech research firm TechInsights, said, quoted by WSJ. 

Jefferies analysts cautioned that increasing production of high-end iPhone models in India to around 40 million within two years was a “tall order.”

A previous WSJ report cited sources who said Apple has been studying various ways to shift overseas iPhone production to the US—a move that could take years. 

Wedbush Securities suggested that an American iPhone could cost $3,500.