Apple raises iPhone Pro starting price in the US after 7 years

Apple has increased the starting price of its latest flagship, the iPhone 17 Pro, which now begins at $1,099. This represents a $100 increase from the starting price of last year's iPhone 16 Pro. However, it is to be noted that the price hike is for the base model's entry point, which now comes with 256GB of storage, double the 128GB of the previous generation. The price for the 256GB variant of the iPhone 16 Pro last year was the same as the starting price of the new iPhone 17 Pro.

iPhone ‘Plus’ model is replaced by ‘iPhone Air’

The company also replaced the iPhone Plus model with the new, thinner iPhone Air, which starts at $999, essentially marking a $100 increase.Apple’s chief marketing officer, Greg Joswiak, attempted to soften the price increase by highlighting that the entry-level phones now come with 256GB of storage, double the 128GB that was standard on previous models.

“iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1099, the same great price as last year’s 256 gigabyte iPhone 16 Pro,” he said during the launch event.According to CNBC, analysts and investors had anticipated a price hike as Apple expects to incur over $1 billion in tariff costs this quarter. The company has been shifting its supply chain to import iPhones from India instead of China to mitigate the impact of these tariffs, the report added.Despite the price increases on the Pro and Air models, Apple kept the starting price of the entry-level iPhone 17 steady at $799, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max price remained unchanged. The company also maintained the prices for other new hardware, including the AirPods Pro 3 at $249 and the Apple Watch Series 11 at $399.