Apple is Reportedly Considering Price Increases for its iPhone 17 Lineup

Apple is reportedly considering raising the prices of its iPhone 17 series that’s coming later this fall, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today. The fall iPhone lineup is expected to introduce some design changes and add a thinner “Air” model to the family, but the report says that Apple is looking for other reasons than Trump’s tariffs to justify the possible price increases.

Earlier today, the US and China agreed to slash tariffs for the next 90 days. As part of the deal, reciprocal tariffs between both countries will be cut from 125% to 10%. However, a separate 20% tariff that Trump previously imposed on Chinese imports relating to fentanyl remains, and it applies to smartphones.

The uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs previously forced Apple to stockpile iPhones made in China and start manufacturing most of the models intended for the US market in India. However, people familiar with Apple’s supply chain said that most of the Pro and Pro Max iPhone models will continue to be manufactured in China due to the country’s superior mass production capabilities.

“The people familiar with the supply chain said Apple would have trouble making up for China tariff costs solely by seeking further savings from its suppliers, meaning a hit to its profit margin was likely unless it could raise prices,” the report reads. “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’s iPhone 16 lineup currently starts at $799 for the base iPhone 16, or $599 if you take the new entry-level iPhone 16E into account. That model was already $170 more expensive than the 3rd-gen iPhone SE it replaced, and that was before the US/China tariff war.

While tariffs and supply-chain issues may lead to a more expensive iPhone 17 lineup, consumers still seeing the iPhone as the gold standard of smartphones will probably agree to swallow these price increases. However, Apple will still need a good marketing story to sell the expected design changes and new features in the iPhone 17 lineup.