In this article, we talk about how US tariffs on India and China may affect the prices of the upcoming iPhone 17 series, the new Apple Watch, and the AirPods.
The next lineup of Apple's iPhones and other devices will soon be revealed, showcased, and released in September 2025.
Unlike past years, one of the biggest concerns that users have, especially in the US, is how the current Trade War and tariffs in general are going to affect the iPhone 17 series prices.
As you may already know, there has been a back-and-forth imposition of tariffs by the US Administration on almost every country, with the most affected ones being India, China, Brazil, and a few others.
Back in April, the US imposed a 100% tariff on China and 26% on India, two of the biggest iPhone manufacturers in the world.
The per-unit cost of producing an iPhone in India is 5 to 6% more compared to that of China, and yet, to counter the higher US tariffs on China, Apple significantly increased its iPhone production in India.
While the US President Donald Trump criticized the move as he wanted Apple to manufacture in the US, Apple still doubled down on producing most of its iPhones for the second quarter in India, as confirmed by Tim Cook during the Q2 investors call.
For the Q3 - September quarter, Tim Cook mentioned that they estimate the impact of tariffs to add about $1.1 billion to their cost. And, while a recent Bloomberg report suggests that, for now, the iPhone exports from India will get exempted from the tariffs, there's no saying when that could change.
That said, on August 18, as reported by Economic Times, the production of the new iPhone 17 series in India has begun, and Apple aims to significantly increase iPhone production in India.
So, how are these tariffs, penalties, and the constant shift in policies going to affect the new iPhone 17 series prices?
At the time of writing, there have been no words from Apple on how the current trade war is going to affect the iPhone 17 series and other devices' prices, analysts and experts say, a price hike is imminent.
According to Jefferies analyst Edison Lee, Apple's iPhone 17 Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max will see a price hike of $50, making the minimum expected prices of the new iPhones to be:
- iPhone 17 - $829
- iPhone 17 Air - $979
- iPhone 17 Pro - $1,049
- iPhone 17 Pro Max - $1,249
Multiple factors could further increase the prices of the iPhone 17 series as Apple could raise them on the pretext of giving better hardware and features.
iPhone 17 pricing, per analyst iPhone 17: $799 (same as iPhone 16)iPhone 17 Pro: $1,049 (+$50)iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,249 (+$50)iPhone 17 Air: ~$949 (+50)Tariffs and more expensive components are the reason for the increase.Will you still upgrade this year? pic.twitter.com/uPNWVy9qJj
— AppleTrack (@appltrack) August 10, 2025
Some experts have even said that Apple could offset the cost of tariffs by increasing the prices of its services, like Apple Music and such. But so far, there are no official statements on that to back it up.
Overall, we don't expect a massive increase in the prices of the iPhone 17 series and other products like the Apple Watches or the AirPods despite the tariffs and such things.
What are your thoughts?