The storage crisis is escalating. Is Apple iPhone 17 going to increase in price today? The autumn launch event is expected to be scheduled for September 9th

Zhitong
2026.08.10 07:06

Due to the surge in storage chip costs, Apple may raise the prices of the iPhone 17 series in advance on August 10, breaking with past practices. CEO Tim Cook warned of an industry crisis, stating that price increases are inevitable. Additionally, insiders revealed that Apple's fall launch event may be scheduled for September 9. Previously, Apple had already raised prices for several product lines, including iPad and Mac, but the prices for iPhone and others remain unchanged

According to reports, due to the surge in storage chip costs, Apple (AAPL.US) may raise the prices of the iPhone 17 series ahead of August 10 (Monday), breaking the tradition of not adjusting prices before the launch of new models. Additionally, well-known Apple "leaker" Mark Gurman revealed that Apple is most likely to hold its fall launch event this year on September 9.

Previously, Apple CEO Tim Cook had publicly warned of an industry crisis, defining the current rise in storage chip prices as a "once-in-a-century flood," making price increases inevitable. The core reason for the surge in storage chip prices is the global AI infrastructure boom, which has significantly squeezed the supply of chips in the consumer electronics sector, leading to continuous price increases for core components such as DRAM and NAND flash memory, and sharply escalating cost pressures on Apple's supply chain.

Apple has already raised prices for several product lines, including iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, and HomePod, but the prices of iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch remain unchanged.

However, recent media reports indicate that Apple will adjust the prices of the iPhone 17 series on August 10, and there have also been changes to production plans.

Breaking Tradition? Early Price Adjustment for iPhone 17 May Restructure New Product Pricing Logic

Prior to this, the market generally anticipated that the next price adjustment window for iPhones would be postponed until the release of the iPhone 18 Pro this fall, and at that time, the new models would likely face supply shortages and insufficient inventory.

Currently, there are still multiple questions in the market: Will this price adjustment cover all models of the iPhone 17 series? Will the iPhone Air models be affected? Will the currently sold iPhone 16 series also follow suit with price adjustments? More critically, is this round of price increases a short-term cost hedging action, or an adjustment to Apple's medium- to long-term pricing strategy, and how long will the price increase cycle last?

Looking back at Apple's pricing patterns over the past few years, the price adjustment process has been the same after the launch of new models every September: first, when a new series is released, the two Pro models are discontinued; second, the prices of the current non-Pro iPhones are also lowered. For example, in September last year, the prices of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus both dropped by $100, with current prices of $699 and $799, respectively.

This round of price adjustments may affect market expectations for the pricing of the iPhone 18 series. Reports suggest that if the price of the iPhone 17 Pro is raised by $100 from $1,099 to $1,199, it may confirm previous industry rumors that the price of the iPhone 18 Pro series could increase by $200.

Similarly, if the standard version of the iPhone 17 rises from $799 to $899, even if there is a regular price drop after the new model is released in September this year, its price floor will also be raised accordingly. It is worth noting that the market expects the standard version of the iPhone 18 to be delayed until spring 2027 TrendForce's latest report indicates that due to rising component prices, particularly for memory, the overall cost of the iPhone 18 series that Apple will release is expected to increase. Taking the BOM (Bill of Materials) cost of the 256GB version of this series as an example, the estimated year-on-year increase is around 38%, which will inevitably raise the retail price. To avoid impacting consumer purchasing willingness, Apple may control the price increase by reducing gross margins in exchange for market share expansion.

Apple's Fall Event May Be Scheduled for September 9

From the consumer side, August is traditionally a slow sales season for the iPhone. Consumers generally choose to hold off on purchases, waiting for the new models to be released in September while also anticipating regular price reductions on older models.

However, if Apple does adjust prices on August 10, it will disrupt the traditional purchasing rhythm.

Notably, well-known Apple "leaker" Mark Gurman has stated that Apple is most likely to hold its fall event on September 9 this year. Apple's grandest annual hardware launch event is approaching, and new CEO John Ternus will also make his debut.

Historically, Apple typically holds its new iPhone launch event on the second Tuesday or Wednesday of September. Gurman pointed out that the biggest highlight of this year's fall event will be the foldable iPhone. In addition, Apple will also release the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, as well as a new Apple TV set-top box and HomePod mini

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