Apple Hikes Older iPhone Prices by $100
Apple Hikes Older iPhone Prices by $100
The News
Apple raised prices on its existing iPhones by $100 on Wednesday, the same day it unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro line and its first foldable, the iPhone Duo.
Apple is charging $100 more for iPhones it has been selling for months — a break from its long-standing habit of discounting older models when new ones launch.
The higher prices went live on Apple's online store on Wednesday, according to TechCrunch and Gizmodo.
Apple also discontinued the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The New Prices
iPhone 17e — starts at $699.
iPhone 16 — starts at $799.
iPhone 17 — starts at $899.
iPhone Air — starts at $1,099.
The new iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max also went up $100, to $1,199 and $1,299, Gizmodo reported.
Timeline
Former Apple CEO Tim Cook tells The Wall Street Journal that rising component costs could force Apple to rethink its pricing, saying the company can no longer fully absorb the cost of memory and storage chips. Gizmodo reported Cook called the increases "unavoidable."
Apple raises prices across its Mac and iPad lines, TechCrunch reported.
At its "Surprise and Shine" event, Apple introduces the iPhone Duo foldable and the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. The same day, prices on the iPhone 16, 17e, 17 and Air each rise $100.
Reactions
Tech coverage was blunt about who absorbs the increase. Gizmodo called the hikes on older phones "especially aggravating," noting Apple did not release a new base-model iPhone this year — leaving the iPhone 17 as the newest standard model a buyer can get.
TechCrunch called the move "an unusual one for Apple," since a new generation has traditionally made older iPhones cheaper.
The Washington Post reported that Apple and other gadget makers have raised prices in part because of shortages of key components in heavy demand from AI companies.
Apple has not issued a public statement on the price changes reflected in the sources.
What's Next
The Financial Times reported that new CEO John Ternus was expected to unveil the folding iPhone Duo later Wednesday.
TechCrunch reported Apple may be counting on its Upgrade program — which spreads the cost over monthly payments — to blunt the sticker shock, and that competitive pressure from rising Samsung and Google prices may also be a factor.
The open question is demand: whether buyers who planned to save money on last year's hardware walk away, or keep buying on installments.
More
The squeeze is not limited to the United States. In India, prices on some models have risen by around 20.5%, TechCrunch reported.
The stated driver is a global shortage of memory and storage chips, with demand surging as AI companies and cloud providers build out ever-larger data centers.
Poll
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