There isn’t just one thing deciding how much you’ll pay for the new iPhone when it’s released this fall. No, there are many, many reasons you’ll likely pay a higher price for the rumored iPhone 17.
After a long, dizzying past few months of President Donald Trump raising, lowering and pausing tariffs on various countries, he announced this week that he’d made a deal with China, setting the effective tariff rate to 55%. He also mentioned Wednesday that he’d be open to extending the July 8 deadline for trade deals with other countries, which are currently subject to a baseline 10% “reciprocal tariff.”
Apple initially avoided tariffs by stockpiling early and making its way onto an exemption list. However, it ended up incurring Trump’s wrath for suggesting US iPhone manufacturing could move from China to India, and the tech giant now faces a potential 25% tariff for any smartphones produced outside the US (that’s the majority of smartphones).
If a new iPhone does get hit with a tariff, you should expect Apple — and other smartphone manufacturers — to pass along most of that cost to you, say experts.
“The president’s tariff would really basically just be a sales tax that would be tacked on to the cost of a new smartphone,” said Timothy Meyer, Richard Allen/Cravath distinguished professor in international business law, Duke University School of Law. “And the companies will probably be able to pass through most of that cost to consumers.”
Tariffs aside, there are other reasons an iPhone 17 could cost more, like production costs and the health of the US economy. My colleague Patrick Holland, who’s been reviewing phones for CNET since 2016, says the new iPhone is due for a price hike anyway. If rumors about the iPhone 17 Air are true, its additional features could potentially justify a higher price.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment for an earlier version of this story.
We’ve rounded up all the leaks, rumors and predictions about prices for the new iPhone, but Apple won’t reveal the exact price until its release, expected in September. For now, here’s what we know about the price tag for the rumored iPhone 17.
Read more: Thinking About Buying a New iPhone? Here’s Why You Should Wait
Watch this: Should You Buy Now or Wait? Our Experts Weigh In on Tariffs
How tariffs could affect the cost of the rumored iPhone 17
There are a few tariffs that could raise iPhone prices — tariffs on imports from other countries (the 55% tariff on imports from China and a potential 26% hike on those from India) and the 25% tariff on imported smartphones that Trump announced in May.
If your iPhone is made in China, that doesn’t mean it will cost 80% more, though (55% plus 25%). Trump’s 55% tariff on China includes a 25% tariff that has been in place since his first administration. That tax is already baked into the iPhone’s price. So you’d be looking at up to a 30% increase to buy a phone imported from China. If 25% smartphone tariffs are enacted, then it could bring the price up by a total of 55%. If your phone is made in India, you could see a 26% increase in the iPhone price if a trade deal isn’t reached and a 51% increase if smartphone tariffs are enacted.
Using the iPhone 16 as a reference, this means a base iPhone 17 model subject to import tariffs on China or India could start at just over $1,000 without a smartphone tariff, and could go up to more than $2,400 for a high-end Pro Max with a broad smartphone tariff.
However, a broad iPhone tariff is unlikely to stand, according to many experts. “My prediction would be that it’s unlikely that we ever see a global smartphone tariff,” Meyer said.
Meyer explained that a product-specific tariff is less likely to stand up in court if Trump tries to justify it under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Most experts say moving iPhone production to the US is an unrealistic demand anyway, especially in the short term, because of higher labor and production costs in the US. Estimates have suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500.
And where the new phones are assembled is only part of the tariff equation. Apple sources components for the iPhone from dozens of other countries, which could also potentially affect the price.
Here’s how much the iPhone 17 could cost
Based on what tariffs could look like in the fall, here’s how much you could pay for the next iPhone based on current iPhone 16 prices. These are our estimates and not official pricing from Apple:
Potential iPhone price with tariffs
| Current price | With India’s 26% tariff | India tariff + 25% smartphone tariff | With China’s 30% tariff | China tariff + 25% smartphone tariff | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16 (128GB) | $829 | $1,045 | $1,252 | $1,078 | $1,285 |
| iPhone 16 Plus (128GB) | $929 | $1,171 | $1,403 | $1,208 | $1,440 |
| iPhone 16 Pro (128GB) | $999 | $1,259 | $1,508 | $1,299 | $1,548 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max (256GB) | $1,199 | $1,511 | $1,810 | $1,559 | $1,858 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max (1TB) | $1,599 | $2,015 | $2,414 | $2,079 | $2,478 |
What else could cause the new iPhone’s price to increase?
Trump immediately criticized retailers like Amazon and Walmart when they suggested that tariffs could result in higher prices, so it stands to reason that Apple won’t directly blame tariffs for potential price hikes that could provoke a Trump tirade.
Rather, Apple could attribute the price increase to new features and design costs. Regardless of tariffs, Apple has plans to raise iPhone prices this year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Experts say Apple may be overdue for a price increase anyway. It’s been five years since the basic iPhone model increased in price, and each iteration generally improves on features from the previous version.
Among the rumored iPhone 17 Pro features is improved battery life and increased RAM, which Apple could use to justify a price increase. In a post on X, Majin Bu showed a video of what looks like a thicker iPhone 17 Pro model, likely based on rumored dimensions:
iPhone 17 Pro is beautiful pic.twitter.com/d2osFRSVDS
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) May 28, 2025
Holland notes that the base iPhone model hasn’t increased in price since 2020. His research points to the standard iPhone model’s price increasing approximately every five years, between $50 and $130. Based on this evidence and the iPhone 16’s current price of $829, we could expect the new phones to cost between $879 and $959.
What will the iPhone 17 Air cost?
Early rumors had the iPhone 17 Air topping the iPhone Pro in price. However, a March Bloomberg report suggested the new phone could cost about $900, similar to the current iPhone 16 Plus’s price tag. Those estimates are based on the current costs and may not include the potential impact tariffs could have on an ultrathin iPhone’s price.
How the economy could affect iPhone prices
Uncertainty in the US economy — in part because of the aforementioned tariff turmoil — has left many wary about what’s to come. While the recent agreement with China to pause tariffs helped the stock market to mostly recover from the dive it took after Trump’s Liberation Day, that reprieve offers only temporary relief.
Concerns about the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have left the Federal Reserve in a wait-and-see mode for lowering interest rates. Higher interest rates can cause companies like Apple to pull back on spending and investment. Combined with higher tariffs, that pullback could lead to global supply chain disruptions. Fewer iPhones available in the market could lead to higher prices.
If inflation resurges, rising costs could force Apple to increase the next iPhone’s price.
One tiny bright side, in theory, is that a weakening economy could force Apple to hold off on raising prices so it can stay competitive. But that may not offer much consolation if you’re worried about spending money because of a potential recession.
Will older iPhones cost more too?
One way to save on Apple products is to buy last year’s model instead of the newest release. However, if the new iPhone is dramatically more expensive without enough new features to justify the hike, demand could increase for the older models. That could lead to price hikes on older models too.
The flip side of this is that if the new iPhone’s prices rise and you have an older iPhone, your old iPhone would also likely increase in value, Holland said.
Trading or selling a used iPhone can help offset the cost if you do decide to buy the new iPhone.
Other ways Apple could raise prices
Even if Apple decides to keep the price of the next iPhone steady, the tech giant can recoup increased costs in other ways.
Apple could potentially offset the impact of tariffs by raising the price of its services, including its music, news and data plans, according to supply chain expert Joe Hudicka.
“We’ll see those markups in the subscription services first because they’ll appear smaller,” he said. “Consumers will still pay, just not all at once.”
Should we believe rumors and speculation about iPhone prices?
So seriously, how much is a new iPhone going to cost? The truth is, we can’t say with any certainty what the final numbers will be. Our assessments are based on ever-changing tariff policies, past pricing trends, rumors and leaks that are sometimes based on insider knowledge. But until Apple releases the rumored iPhone 17, we can only offer our best estimates for the final price tag.