Overview
- Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro series and its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, on Wednesday and set Pro launch prices $100 higher at $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro and $1,299 for the Pro Max.
- At the same event Apple quietly bumped starting prices of several existing models in its online store by roughly $100 in the U.S., reversing the usual post‑launch discounts for older iPhones.
- Price changes are much larger in some markets, with India seeing rises of tens of thousands of rupees for models such as the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air, reflecting taxes, duties and exchange‑rate effects.
- Reporters and industry research link the moves to a global memory and storage shortage—sharp year‑over‑year DRAM and NAND price jumps driven by heavy AI and data‑center demand—an effect Apple has already acknowledged in earlier price increases for Macs and iPads.
- The shift raises costs for shoppers worldwide, may push more buyers toward financing or trade‑in plans, and fits a broader industry pattern this year of roughly $100 higher launch prices from major phone makers.