Some new iPhone models are debuting at higher prices, but that doesn’t mean President Trump’s tariffs are to blame.
“There’s no increase for tariffs in the prices to be totally clear,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday.
The remark was a rare instance of Cook definitively addressing the link between tariffs and iPhone prices.
Earlier this month, Apple unveiled its iPhone 17 lineup, raising the base price of the Pro model by $100. However, the entry-level Pro now comes with 256GB of built-in storage compared to 128GB last year, which may help soften the blow for buyers.
Apple didn’t raise the price of the standard iPhone 17, which costs $799 for 256GB of storage. But the company scrapped the Plus model, replacing it with a slimmer — and more expensive — iPhone Air.
The tech giant didn’t explain the price changes at last week’s event, but Cook’s comments Friday sought to shut down speculation that tariffs were behind them.
Trump has repeatedly called on Apple to make iPhones in America and threatened a 25 percent tariff if that doesn’t happen. Analysts warn that if iPhones were made domestically, prices would soar.
Instead, the company has been shifting its iPhone supply chain to India, away from China. The company has also pledged to invest $600 billion domestically over the next four years, with Cook and Trump appearing together in the announcement.
While Cook insists the latest price hikes aren’t tariff-related, the company has felt the impact of the president’s trade policies.
Apple expects to face $1.1 billion in tariff-related costs this quarter, on top of $800 million from the previous three-month period, Cook said on a recent earnings call.
The new iPhone 17 lineup and iPhone Air hit store shelves worldwide on Friday. These are the starting prices for each new model:
- iPhone 17: $799 (256GB)
- iPhone Air: $999 (256GB)
- iPhone 17 Pro: $1,099 (256GB)
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,199 (256GB)
