Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro could start at $1,049 with 256GB of storage while replacing the 128GB option amid Trump’s tariffs and rising component costs.
We heard rumors before that Apple might be nudging the price of some iPhone 17 models, and now a leaker has made claims that the iPhone 17 Pro price will go up by $50. In addition, they claim Apple’s marketing will dress up the price hike as extra value by doubling the base storage from 128GB to 256GB.
Leaker “Instant Digital” claims in a post on Chinese social network Weibo that the iPhone 17 Pro is expected to start at $1,049 instead of $999 for last year’s iPhone 16 Pro. Meanwhile, analysts at Jefferies, along with “Instant Digital,” attribute the rumored price hike to rising component costs and tariffs on Chinese imports.
Apple could mask the rumored $50 price hike for iPhone 17 Pros by doubling the base storage
Would-be iPhone buyers won’t get much choice, as they’ll need to give Apple a little extra cash to get a base iPhone 17 Pro model, even if getting more storage is supposed to soften the blow.
We saw the same strategy at play earlier. In 2022, Apple increased the entry-level price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max to $1,099. And with the iPhone 15 Pro Max in 2023, the company removed the lower storage tier while simultaneously pushing up the price to $1,199. Apple’s marketing boss Greg Joswiak framed the move as matching “last year’s price with this level of storage.”
It looks like the iPhone 17 Pro lineup will be offered in three storage options: 256GB, 512GB, and a thirst-quenching 1TB.
I’d argue that removing the 128GB option is the right move to make because 128GB is not enough these days for even casual users, let alone people who are in the market for an iPhone Pro because they’re likely to shoot lots of photos and videos that eat up storage fast.
Apple is rumored to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup on September 9, with the devices likely landing on store shelves around September 19. By that time, there will be a 30 percent tariff on all imports from China.
Earlier reporting
The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Apple might increase prices of all models in the iPhone 17 lineup, including a new, slimmer iPhone 17 model, to cancel out the impact of Trump’s tariffs. The article claims Apple might justify the price increase by underscoring new features and hyping up design changes.
“Apple is weighing price increases for its fall iPhone lineup, a step it is seeking to couple with new features and design changes, according to people familiar with the matter,” the article said. “The people familiar with the supply chain said Apple would have trouble making up for China tariff costs solely by seeking further savings from its suppliers, meaning a hit to its profit margin was likely unless it could raise prices.”
At the end of July, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee told investors that he expected all models in the iPhone 17 lineup to cost an extra $50 in the United States, not just the iPhone 17 Pros.
The impact of tariffs
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on the last earnings call with analysts that his company incurred approximately $800 million of tariff-related costs during the June quarter, while expecting costs associated with tariffs to climb to $1.1 billion, resulting in nearly $2 billion in total tariff costs for Apple.
As the vast majority of Apple’s devices are manufactured primarily in China, India and Vietnam, there’s no escaping these tariffs. To appease Trump, Apple announced committing another $100 billion toward domestic manufacturing on top of the previously announced $500 billion commitment made earlier this year.