Would you be willing to pay $2000 for an iPhone?
Apple is still trying to keep its smartphone price increases reasonable, but this may not be the case for long.
In 2017, Apple launched the iPhone X to mark the 10-year anniversary of the iconic device. The smartphone was also the first Apple phone to come without a home button. But another thing that made it stand out was its price – $1000.
While this amount for a smartphone may have seemed quite shocking at the time, it helped the company establish a new category of premium-tier devices that are more expensive.
Since then, Apple hasn’t changed its pricing that much, despite inflation and technological advancements, reports Mark Gurman on Bloomberg.
The recently launched iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1099, which is $100 more than the iPhone X’s previously eye-opening release price.
Such a price hike may surprise those who predicted that Apple’s latest smartphone would roll out with a significant price hike due to President Trump's impending tariffs on Apple products made in China. According to the president, Apple would have to pay a 25% tariff for smartphones that weren’t manufactured in the US.
Nevertheless, the company did its math and increased the price of its Pro models by $100, but in return, provided the new model with 256 GB of storage.
Apple’s latest addition to its iPhone 17 series, the iPhone 17 Air, also came with a $100 increase in comparison to iPhone 16 Plus.
Some users rushed to get the device before the tariffs hit because of the possibility of it becoming even more expensive. This year, users will be able to pre-order the latest iPhones starting September 12th, with the official release scheduled for September 19th, 2025.
While the expected price hikes weren’t so drastic, they probably won’t be like this for long. Apple hasn’t been able to escape rising costs even after shifting its production to India.
The company has already started introducing users to the idea of a $2000 smartphone by releasing the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which has a 2-terabyte storage and a price of $1999.
Users should also be prepared for higher iPhone prices as Apple is reportedly already working on its foldable smartphone, which could be released next year. Considering that other smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung and Google foldables cost around $1500-$2500, the price range of Apple's foldable could be similar.
With Apple nearing the 20th anniversary of its iPhone, the company will likely again release something special, similar to when it launched the iPhone X to mark the smartphone’s 10th birthday. This special release could also reveal the next price spike for future Apple iPhone models.
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