Apple Increases iPhone Pro Price for First Time in 7 Years, Unveils New iPhone 17 Air
Apple has officially raised the starting price of its flagship iPhone Pro model in the U.S. for the first time since 2017, a move long anticipated by analysts and investors. The new iPhone 17 Pro now starts at $1,099, which is $100 more than last year’s iPhone 16 Pro. Alongside it, Apple has also introduced a sleek and lightweight device, the iPhone 17 Air, priced at $999, replacing the iPhone 16 Plus that started at $899.
Industry experts had expected price hikes as Apple faces more than $1 billion in tariff-related costs this quarter. To offset the impact, Apple highlighted that all of its new entry-level iPhones now come with 256GB of storage, doubling last year’s 128GB standard. Storage upgrades, however, remain costly, with a jump to 512GB on the iPhone 17 Air adding another $200.
Greg Joswiak, Apple’s chief of marketing, emphasized during the launch event that the new iPhone 17 Pro “starts at $1,099, the same great price as last year’s 256GB iPhone 16 Pro.” This marks the first price hike for Apple’s entry-level Pro line since the iPhone X debuted at $999 in 2017.
Despite the increases, Apple kept the pricing of its base iPhone 17 at $799 and maintained the cost of its most premium model, the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Other hardware announcements also carried no price changes: the new AirPods Pro with real-time translation remain at $249, while the Apple Watch Series 11 stays at $399, and the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 3 continues at $799 and above.
