Apple's $100 iPhone hike falls on four models that got no new hardware

A shopper looking for the cheap option finds the iPhone 16 at $799. That is $100 more than the newer iPhone 17e, with half the storage and an older processor, though Tom's Guide credits the 16 with a better camera setup and faster charging ^[12]. The least expensive current iPhone on Apple's site is the $699 17e ^[10].

PCMag puts the increases down to rising global memory and component costs and says they were a long time coming ^[4]. Per PCMag, former CEO Tim Cook hinted at "unavoidable" price hikes in mid-June, when Apple raised prices on Macs, HomePods, iPads and the Vision Pro ^[5]. Tom's Guide credits ongoing component shortages ^[11]. Neither publisher says what Apple pays for memory.

GF Securities' Jeff Pu, in a note seen by 9to5Mac, said the $100 Pro increase came in below market expectations of $200 to $250 ^[14], so Apple left $100 to $150 of expected price rise on the table ^[1]. Pu reads that as a margin problem. He wrote that the iPhone 18 series will likely face margin pressure alongside limited hardware upgrades ^[15], and that his firm remains "cautious on the iPhone 18 Pro product cycle" ^[16]. His recommendation is hold, which under GF Securities' system implies expected relative stock performance between -10% and 10% ^[19].

The Duo's $1,999 came in at the low end of an expected $2,000 to $2,500 range, a dollar under the bottom of it ^[17][2], and Pu expects Apple to ship 7 million units through the end of the year ^[17]. His fourth-quarter build forecast is 57 million iPhone 18-series units and 76 million iPhones overall, down 7% from a year earlier ^[20]. Seven million is about 12% of that 18-series figure, although the 7 million covers the rest of the year and the 57 million is one quarter's build ^[5]. "Consumer interest in iPhone Duo appears strong, driven by Apple's first major form-factor innovation in years and a differentiated large-screen experience," Pu wrote, adding that he sees "post-launch order lead time and supply-chain build revisions as key indicators to watch" ^[18].

Nobody can place a Duo order yet. Preorders open on Oct 16 and ship Oct 23, five weeks behind the 18 Pro, which took preorders on Sept 12 and ships Sept 18 ^[9][6].

Financing absorbs much of the sticker increase. Apple Upgrade starts at $34.99 a month for 24 months on the 18 Pro ^[8]; those payments come to $839.76, so $359.24 of the $1,199 price is left to settle if the customer keeps the phone ^[3]. Trade-in moves more money: a maximum $885 credit for an iPhone 17 Pro ^[7] brings an 18 Pro to $314 up front ^[4].

Four of the six iPhones Apple now lists went up $100 with no new hardware this year: the 17, 17e, Air and 16 ^[7]. At the same event, the $129 AirPods 5 put active noise cancellation at a price that used to be $179 ^[21], $50 less for the same feature ^[8].