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Why the iPhone is about to get more expensive
Confirmed
In Short: Apple is preparing to raise iPhone prices, following similar moves from Samsung and Google, according to reports.
Apple is preparing to raise iPhone prices, following similar moves from Samsung and Google, according to reports. The company is expected to announce new iPhones, including the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, at an event scheduled for September 9.
According to MacRumors, the starting price for the iPhone 18 Pro could be $1,199, marking a 9% increase from the current iPhone 17 Pro's $1,099 starting price. A $100 increase would keep the iPhone in Samsung's pricing territory and avoid the "sticker shock" of the steeper hikes imposed on the Mac and iPad, according to a MacRumors report.
However, sources close to the company suggest that Apple has room to go higher, as the Mac and iPad price increases were far larger and the iPhone has a loyal customer base to draw on. The shortage of components is also reversing a decades-long decline in memory costs, making consumer electronics more powerful without significantly increasing their price.
Apple is expected to prioritize its more expensive, premium devices this year and hold off on announcing its base model iPhone 18, which is rumored to launch in the spring of 2027, potentially alongside an iPhone 18e and maybe a second-generation iPhone Air. The shortage of components is also making less expensive phones less appealing for manufacturers to prioritize, leading to a trend of focusing on premium devices.
Apple's iPhone event will be held on September 9 at 10 am Pacific (1 pm Eastern), announced last week with the title "Surprise and Shine!" If you tune into the livestream, expect the announcement of an iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, and, if all the rumors and widely held analyst expectations are true, the first look at an Apple foldable device.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- A Korean carrier has published details of the forthcoming iPhone 18 Pro range and the expected iPhone Ultra.
- For configurations, the reseller is quoting 256GB and 512GB versions of the iPhone Ultra.
- Then this may be because of machine translation, but at different points the site appears to say that the new iPhones will be available on either September 18, 2026, or September 26.
- When Apple debuts the next generation of iPhones this week, they’re likely to come with an unwanted change: a higher price tag.
- In July, the company launched an iPhone leasing program that lets people pay a monthly fee to rent the newest iPhones, then swap them out when a new device releases.
- Here's how to get started using it on iPhone and iPad.