Apple is gearing up to launch the new iPhone 17 line-up sometime in September this year. This year, alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Plus, there is rumoured to be another variant that may launch alongside, and it is tipped to be called the iPhone 17 Air. Research firm Counterpoint Research now reports that the pricing of the upcoming iPhone models may see a hike due to the new US tariffs. In the last few years, Apple hasn’t made any drastic changes to its pricing model, but that may change this year given that the tariffs have affected overall production costs.
Counterpoint Research claims that it has revised its 2025 global smartphone shipment growth forecast to 1.9 percent YoY from 4.2 percent YoY blaming uncertainties surrounding US tariffs. The report says that growth projections of Apple and Samsung have been revised down ‘as cost increases are expected to be passed on to consumers, hurting demand — this despite some easing of the tariff burden compared to earlier worst-case scenarios’. This means that the cost of production for the iPhone 17 lineup may increase, inevitably leading to an increase in the selling price of the upcoming smartphones.
In Apple’s earnings call last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the new tariffs, imposed by US President Donald Trump, could increase the total cost of producing iPhones by an additional $900 million.
This means that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the rumoured iPhone 17 Air may launch with higher price tags than what the iPhone 16 lineup was launched at. Counterpoint adds that North America and China may see a decline in smartphone sales due to the tariffs. China, in particular, may see a near-flat year on year growth on weaker-than-expected market reaction to the government’s subsidy program.
The new iPhone 17 lineup will run on iOS 26 that was unveiled at WWDC 2025 a few days ago. The new software update brought a ‘Liquid Glass’ design interface that is said to be more expressive and fluid.
