Apple would possibly increase iPhone costs regardless of its dealing with of tariffs up to now

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Apple CEO Tim Cook (R) shakes arms with U.S. President Donald Trump throughout an occasion within the Oval Office of the White House on August 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Win Mcnamee | Getty Images

When Tim Cook gifted President Donald Trump a gold and glass plaque final month, the Apple CEO was hailed by Wall Street for his job managing the iPhone-maker’s relationship with the White House. 

Cook, Wall Street commentators mentioned, had largely navigated the specter of tariffs on Apple’s enterprise efficiently by providing Trump an extra $100 billion U.S. funding, a win the president might tout on American manufacturing. But regardless of the 24-carat trophy Cook handed Trump, the true prices of these tariffs could lastly present up for Apple clients later this month. 

“Thank you all, and thank you President Trump for putting American innovation and American jobs front and center,” Cook mentioned on the occasion, which introduced Apple’s whole deliberate spend to $600 billion within the U.S. over the following 5 years. Trump, on the occasion, mentioned that Apple can be exempt from forthcoming tariffs on chips that would double their worth.

But as Apple prepares to announce new iPhones on Tuesday, some analysts are forecasting the corporate to lift costs on its units even in spite of everything Cook has accomplished to keep away from the worst of the tariffs.

“A lot of the chatter is: Will the iPhone go up in price?” mentioned CounterPoint analysis director Jeff Fieldhack.

Although smartphones have not seen important worth will increase but, different client merchandise are seeing worth will increase pushed by tariffs prices, together with attire, footwear, and occasional. And the tariffs have hit some electronics, notably video video games — Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, have raised console costs this yr within the U.S.

Some Wall Street analysts are relying on Apple to observe. Jeffries analyst Edison Lee baked in a $50 worth improve into his iPhone 17 common promoting worth projections in a notice in July. He’s acquired a maintain ranking on Apple inventory.

Goldman Sachs analysts say that the potential for worth will increase might improve the typical promoting worth of Apple’s units over time, and the corporate’s mixture of telephones have been skewing towards costlier costs. 

Analysts anticipate Apple to launch 4 new iPhone fashions this month, which is able to probably be named the “iPhone 17” sequence. Last yr, Apple launched 4 iPhone 16 fashions: the bottom iPhone 16 for $829, the iPhone 16 Plus at $899, the iPhone 16 Pro at $999 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max at $1,199.

This yr, many provide chain watchers anticipate Apple to interchange the Plus mannequin, which has lagged the remainder of the lineup, with a brand new, slimmer machine that trades further cameras and options for a thinner, lighter physique.

The “thinner, lighter form factor may drive some demand interest,” wrote Goldman analysts, however tradeoffs like battery life could make it laborious to compete with Apple’s entry-level fashions.

Analysts have mentioned they anticipate the slim machine to value about $899, just like how a lot the iPhone 16 Plus prices, however they have not dominated out a worth bump. That would nonetheless undercut Samsung’s skinny Galaxy Edge, which debuted earlier this yr at $1,099.

Apple didn’t reply to a request for remark.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on show throughout a briefing on the Samsung KX retailer in London, U.Ok.

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

How Cook has managed tariffs up to now

When Trump introduced sweeping tariffs on China and the remainder of the world in February, it appeared like Apple was within the crosshairs.

Apple famously makes nearly all of its iPhones and different merchandise in China, and Trump was threatening to position tariffs that would double Apple’s prices or extra. Some of Trump’s so-called “reciprocal” tariffs would hit international locations like Vietnam and India the place Apple had hedged its manufacturing bets.

But seven months later, Apple has weathered the tariffs higher than many had imagined.

The U.S. authorities has paused probably the most draconian Chinese tariffs a number of occasions, smartphones got an exemption from tariffs and Cook in May told investors that the company was able to rearrange its supply chain to import iPhones to the U.S. from India, where tariffs are lower.

Cook also successfully leaned on his relationship with Trump, visiting him in White House and taking his side in August, when Cook presented the shiny keepsake to Trump. That commitment bolstered Trump’s push to bring more high-tech manufacturing to the U.S. In exchange, Trump said he would exempt Apple from a forthcoming semiconductor tariff, too. And Trump’s IEEPA tariffs were ruled illegal in late August, although they are still in effect.

Apple hasn’t completely missed the tariff consequences. Cook said the company spent $800 million on tariff costs in the June quarter, mainly due to the IEEPA-based tariffs on China. That was less than 4% of the company’s profit, but Apple warned it could spend $1.1 billion in the current quarter on tariff expenses.

After months of eating the tariff costs itself, Apple may finally pass those costs to consumers with this month’s launch of the iPhone 17 models. 

People line up outside an Apple Store in Dubai on September 20, 2024, as the new iPhone 16 is released in stores. 

Giuseppe Cacace | Afp | Getty Images

A history of careful pricing

Apple has been judicious about hardware price increases in the U.S. The smaller Pro phone, for example, hasn’t gotten a price increase since its debut in 2017, holding at $999. But Apple has made some price changes.

The company raised the price of its entry level phones from $699 to $829 in 2020. And in 2022 when Apple eliminated the smaller iPhone Mini that started at $699, the company replaced it with the bigger-screen Plus that costs $899. The Pro Max also got a hike in 2023 when Apple bumped it from $1,099 to its current price of $1,199.

If Apple does increase prices on its phones this year, don’t expect management to blame tariffs. 

The average selling price of smartphones around the world is rising, according to IDC. The price of smartphone components, such as the camera module and chips, have been increasing in recent years.

Apple is much more likely to focus on highlighting its phones’ new features and quietly note the new price. Analysts expect the new iPhones to have larger screens, increased memory and new, faster chips for AI.

“No one’s going to come out and say it’s related to tariffs,” said IDC analyst Nabila Popal.

One way that Apple could subtly raise prices is by eliminating the entry-level version of its phones, forcing users to upgrade to get more storage at a higher starting price. Apple typically charges $100 to double the amount of the iPhone’s storage from 128GB to 256GB.

That’s what JPMorgan analysts expect Apple to announce next week.

They forecast that Apple will leave the prices of the entry level and high-end Pro Max models alone, but they wrote that they expect the company to eliminate the entry-level version of the Pro, meaning that users will have to pay $1,099 for an iPhone 17 Pro that has more starting-level storage than its predecessor. That’s how Apple raised the price of the entry-level Pro Max in 2023.

“However, with Apple’s recent announcements relative to investments in US, the assumption is that the company will largely be shielded from tariffs, driving expectations for limited pricing changes except for those associated with changes in the base storage configuration for the Pro model,” wrote JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee.

When Cook was asked about potential Apple price increases on an earnings call in May, he said there was “nothing to announce.”

“I’ll just say that the operational team has done an incredible job around optimizing the supply chain and the inventory,” Cook said.

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