IPhones Are Getting More Expensive, but AirPods Are Cheaper Than Ever.
RAMageddon is real, and it’s finally caught up with the iPhone. Due to the ever-increasing costs of memory and storage , the prices of virtually all tech products are rising. A couple of months ago, Apple raised the prices of Macs and iPads by several hundred dollars. Now it’s the iPhone’s turn: suddenly, all iPhones are $100 more expensive than yesterday, and new models are $100 more expensive than last year.
But it’s not all bad. The new AirPods are actually cheaper, and fortunately, some Apple products have remained the same price.
Upgrade your iPhone for $100
At its September event, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for the 256GB model, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max now costs $1,399. Both models are $100 more expensive than the starting price of the comparable iPhone 17 Pro/Max models.
The price hikes aren’t limited to new phones: Apple has sharply raised the prices of all existing iPhone models by $100. Although Apple didn’t unveil the iPhone 18, the iPhone 17’s price has quietly increased; it now starts at $899 for the 256GB model, up from $799. The older iPhone 16 now costs $799, while the “budget” iPhone 17e sells for $699. Even the iPhone Air’s price has risen to $1,099.
The price of the Apple Watch remains the same.
Surprisingly, the cost of RAM and storage hasn’t yet impacted the Apple Watch, or at least Apple is willing to offset this increase for these smaller devices. The Apple Watch Series 12, with the new S11 processor and built-in Apple Intelligence features, starts at the same $399 as the Apple Watch 11. The new Apple Watch Ultra 4 also maintains the same starting price of $799 as the Ultra 3.
AirPods are now cheaper (and better) than ever.
One popular product escaped a price hike: I was surprised to see a new standard AirPods model at the iPhone 18 Pro launch event, but the price drop was even more surprising. The basic AirPods 5 now come with built-in active noise cancellation (previously an optional feature), along with improved clarity and sound quality, and cost just $129, matching the price of the previous AirPods 4 without active noise cancellation. Apple also has a more expensive AirPods 5 model, which comes with a wireless charging case, improved battery life, and voice control on the stem, for $149—$30 cheaper than the previous AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation.