Will the iPhone 17 lineup see a price hike?

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Key Takeaways:

Potential price hike for iPhone 17: Analysts expect $50 to $100 higher prices, likely from new U.S. tariffs despite Apple’s cost-cutting moves.
Tariffs and trade policies driving costs: Import duties on China-made parts could push Apple to raise prices, though India assembly offsets some of the impact.
Storage tweaks may hide increases: Apple could follow the iPhone 15 Pro Max approach by starting at higher storage tiers to justify a higher base price.
Long streak of stable Pro pricing: Apple hasn’t raised the base iPhone Pro price in nearly 10 years, signaling caution in changing consumer price perception.
Trade policy uncertainty adds risk: Sudden tariff changes or expired exemptions could spike costs, forcing mid-cycle pricing changes despite supply chain optimizations.

iPhone 17 Could Break Apple’s Seven-Year Price Freeze

Apple has kept the starting price of its flagship Pro iPhone steady at $999 since the iPhone X in 2017, weathering inflation, chip shortages, and years of analyst warnings. That streak might end with the iPhone 17 lineup, as several industry watchers now believe a price hike is more likely than not.

Why 2025 Might Be Different

Jeff Pu of GF Securities says U.S. buyers should expect higher prices for iPhone 17 models, citing ongoing tariff risks. At present, Apple pays a 20% tariff on iPhones imported from China but avoids those fees on devices assembled in India. The company has shifted most U.S.-bound production to India, a move Tim Cook has confirmed publicly, but shifting trade policy could erode that advantage quickly.

Apple sidestepped price increases last year through expanded Indian assembly and temporary tariff exemptions. That buffer is not guaranteed to hold. Earlier this year, Chinese electronics faced a proposed 145% tariff before smartphones were excluded — an exemption that remains temporary. If it lapses, even a small portion of U.S. iPhones made in China could push costs higher.

What Analysts Are Predicting

Some Wall Street projections point to a $50 to $100 jump over current iPhone 16 prices. One rumor outlines a $50 increase for the iPhone 17 Air, Pro, and Pro Max, leaving the base iPhone 17 unchanged at $799.

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That would set the lineup at:

iPhone 17: $799
iPhone 17 Air: $949
iPhone 17 Pro: $1,049
iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,249

Apple could also mask a price change by altering storage configurations. This happened with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which dropped the 128GB tier and began at 256GB for $1,199. A similar shift for the iPhone 17 Pro would allow Apple to raise the base price while claiming added value.

Reasons Prices Might Hold

Despite multiple opportunities, Apple has resisted raising the U.S. price of the base Pro model for nearly a decade, suggesting a deliberate effort to maintain key price points. Moving the Pro from $999 to $1,049 risks crossing a psychological threshold that could complicate the debut of the new Air model, especially if buyers already struggle to place it in the lineup.

While tariffs cost Apple an estimated billion dollars per quarter, much of that is absorbed rather than passed to customers. Indian assembly now covers most U.S. demand, cushioning the impact of China-specific tariffs. But if exemptions expire or new sector tariffs target electronics, that buffer could disappear quickly, forcing Apple’s hand.

For now, the most realistic read is that the iPhone 17 may cost more, but Apple has shown discipline in shielding customers from every added expense. Whether they hold that line in 2025 will depend less on product strategy and more on the unpredictability of U.S. trade policy.

Would a $50 jump on the iPhone 17 Pro make you rethink upgrading? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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