Image: Apple Store
Apple officially announced the iPhone 18 Pro models and a brand-new iPhone Duo foldable phone at its event on September 9. The Duo announcement dominated the news and social media for most of the day, and for good reason. It's a really neat phone, and we've been thoroughly obsessed with it here at WhistleOut since we got our first look.
The tech news worth knowing, what it means for you, and what everyone else is getting wrong, delivered right to your inbox.
Unfortunately, the day was not all good news. You may have missed it because there was no formal announcement, but Apple used the excitement over its new devices as a smokescreen to sneak in a massive price hike for all its other iPhones. The iPhone 17, 17e, and iPhone Air are now more expensive than they've ever been, and the iPhone 16—a two-year-old device—is back up to its 2024 launch price.
Does this legally qualify as price gouging? Not at all, and Apple has been hinting for months that price increases were coming. Still, the sudden jump without warning feels pretty unfair if you were holding out to score a discounted iPhone 17 after the iPhone 18 is released next spring.
Luckily, there are other options, and I'm going to tell you how you can still score an iPhone 17, 17e, iPhone Air, or iPhone 16 at much lower prices than what Apple wants you to pay.
Hi there! I'm Max, and I'm a wireless industry expert. What does that mean? For one thing, I get paid to play on my iPhone. But more than that, it means I've spent years reviewing carriers, testing smartphone hardware, and reporting on the news that impacts your phone bill.
Smartphones and wireless plans are some of the most important pieces of technology in most people's lives, but you probably don't think about them until your plan is too expensive or it's time to upgrade to the newest phone. Unfortunately, that means you miss a lot of interesting and important stuff that can affect your life and wallet. The WhistleBlower is our way of cutting through the noise and flagging the things we think you need to know about.
There are many factors forcing Apple and other tech companies to raise prices, but inflation, tariffs, and the AI-driven RAM shortage are the largest contributors. These have been issues for years, but phone manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, and Google have mostly found ways to avoid raising the price of their base-model devices.
Apple and Samsung managed to hold the price of the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy at $799 for around five years through the pandemic and resulting inflation. When you look at how quickly prices rose throughout the rest of the economy during the same period, that's actually pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the RAM shortage finally pushed these companies too hard, and the result has been relentless price hikes roiling the tech industry over the past year. When Samsung announced the $899 Galaxy S26 in February, I publicly proclaimed the $799 smartphone era was dead and warned the $899 iPhone was on the way.
Over the summer, Apple raised the price of MacBooks, iPads, Vision Pros, and the Apple TV box. This change was so sudden that the new MacBook Neo kept its original $599 pricing for just three months before it jumped to $699. However, iPhone pricing stayed the same, so most people—myself included—assumed Apple would implement the next round of price increases with the iPhone 18. After all, demanding higher prices for aging tech that would be phased out within a year anyway doesn't feel like a very "Apple" move. Unfortunately, targeting its old models is exactly what Apple decided to do.
Here's how Apple's new pricing hikes hit each model on the Apple Store:
- iPhone 16: $799 (up from $699)
- iPhone 17e: $699 (up from $599)
- iPhone 17: $899 (up from $799)
- iPhone Air: $1,099 (up from $999)
The iPhone 16 has now returned to its 2024 launch price. The budget-model iPhone 17e is now the normal cost of a previous-generation, fully loaded iPhone. And the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air are now $100 more expensive than their launch cost from 2025.
Apple also changed its product release schedule this year. Instead of releasing the entire iPhone 18 series at once, only the Pro models and a new foldable phone premiered this fall. The base-model iPhone 18 will come out next spring, probably at the same time as the 18e budget model. That means for the next six months, the iPhone 17 is still the "normal" iPhone, and the iPhone 16 is the outdated budget model. They're older devices, but Apple could still target them for price increases because there are no other options.
I can understand the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air decisions. They're still technically the most recent models, and it's conceivable that Apple was having to pay much more than it wanted to for components towards the end of its production run.
The iPhone 16 hike is a bit more puzzling. It's a two-year-old model that has been discontinued since last year, meaning no new units have been manufactured for quite a while. Previous-generation devices are typically exempt from RAM-related price hikes because they're already built and Apple isn't having to source new components.
It's hard to believe Apple was suddenly losing money on that model, so I think the more likely answer is that the company saw the opportunity to squeeze a little extra profit out of its remaining stock from customers who don't know what the price should be. It also makes the iPhone 17's new $899 price look more normal and helps soften the blow for the iPhone 18. My suspicion is the iPhone 18 will also launch at $899, allowing Apple to point at the current iPhone 17 as evidence it maintained pricing (pretty sneaky, right?).
So what can you do? Honestly, it's not complicated. Just don't buy from Apple. Right now, these price increases are limited to the Apple Store. Major carriers have not increased their prices, nor have most third-party retailers like Walmart or Best Buy.
These other sources may adjust their prices at some point, but it's a much slower process for those changes to hit products already sitting on a store's shelf. For now, skipping the Apple Store can save you at least $100 on the iPhone 17 series, iPhone Air, and iPhone 16. Counting trade-in deals or other offers, you might even get one for free.
Wondering where to start? Check out our iPhone deals page. We track all the major carriers' pricing to help you find the best opportunities to save on your next iPhone.
More from WhistleOut on Apple's event and iPhone pricing:
We covered Apple's event and did deep dives across all of the new iPhones. Here are some other perspectives you may have missed:
- With the iPhone Duo, Has Apple Broken the Mold of the Foldable?: Our Managing Editor Lauren Hannula shares her take on what you should consider before buying Apple's newest (and most expensive) device.
- Don't Buy the iPhone Duo Until You Read This: WhistleOut expert—and Samsung fan—Jessica Santero explains why she hates the iPhone Duo and thinks you should too.
- What is Apple Upgrade?: Do the iPhone's higher prices have you wondering about Apple's new leasing program? We'll explain Apple Upgrade and cover how much you can expect to pay.
Max McCaskill
Sr. Staff Writer
Find a better phone plan
Thousands of cell phone plans unpacked. All the facts. No surprises.
