Following Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo announcements, the company implemented an iPhone price hike on four existing models in its online store. The new starting prices are:
iPhone 16: $799 (+$100)
iPhone 17e: $699 (+$100)
iPhone 17: $899 (+$100)
iPhone Air: $1099 (+$100)
That represents a $100 increase on all four models. With the debut of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple has discontinued the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
iPhone price hike and chip shortages
Prior to today’s iPhone event, there was growing speculation that Apple might raise prices on its iPhone 17 lineup when new iPhone 18 Pro models launched in September, especially after CEO Tim Cook’s recent comments about “unavoidable” price increases. In late June, Cook said Apple is no longer able to absorb the increased cost of memory and storage chips, both of which are in high demand from AI and neocloud companies as they continue to build more data centers. The scale of the AI infrastructure buildout has prompted debate over whether demand will ultimately justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested, but for now it is helping to drive supply constraints across the semiconductor industry. Cook likened the memory shortages to a hundred-year flood: “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years,” he said.
