Tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump placed on China imports will push up the price of three iPhone 17 series models, according to an industry analyst. A $50 hike is predicted.
It could be worse.
iPhone 17 price could go up
The tariff rate imposed by Trump on iPhones assembled in China and imported into the United States is currently 20%, commonly referred to as the “fentanyl tariff.” Despite a broader suite of reciprocal tariffs introduced under the Trump administration, electronics — including smartphones like iPhones — are still subject to this baseline 20% rate.
In theory, Apple might raise the price of its products to cover the import tax, which would mean a $240 increase to the cost of the next iPhone Pro Max version. But the hike will be lower, if an expert’s prediction turns out to be accurate.
Jefferies analyst Edison Lee reportedly expects a $50 increase in the cost of the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max compared to the iPhone 16 series prices. He expects the iPhone 17 itself to stay at $799.
In addition to the Trump tariffs, Lee says increasing costs for handset components play a role in forcing Apple to hike its prices.
A rare move
Although Apple’s critics would likely accuse it of frequently bumping up its prices, it happens less frequently than many might realize.
The iPhone 11 Pro released in 2019 cost $999. Every successor since then came at that same price, including the iPhone 16 Pro. That’s six years without a price increase. And the iPhone 14, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 all started at $799 — so three years of price stability for that model.
So a jump to the price tags of three models would be most unusual. But so are 20% tariffs imposed on Apple’s imports.
Reducing iPhone 17 price hike with the India option
The iPhone 17 price increases might be modest because nearly all Apple’s handsets for sale in the United States are reportedly now assembled in India, not China. iPhones assembled in India and imported into the U.S. incur a 10% Trump tariff.
The majority of iPhones are still made in China, but these ship to other parts of the globe.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
