Apple’s iPhone 16e launch came with several surprises this week, one of which involved price. And unfortunately, it may not be the last big price change we see on the iPhone this year.
iPhone SE’s successor lost the SE’s key feature: low price
In the lead-up to this week’s Apple announcement, we had a good idea of what to expect from the new iPhone.
For a while now, various reports had the specs right. A18 chip, 8GB of RAM, iPhone 14-style design with Face ID, Apple Intelligence support, USB-C, and more.
Even the new name—iPhone 16e—had leaked in advance, though there was still a fair amount of skepticism about that change.
We were expecting an iPhone SE successor, and didn’t exactly get one. The name change itself isn’t the reason for that, but the price absolutely is.
- iPhone SE: $429
- iPhone 16e: $599
That is no longer a ‘budget’ smartphone.
Rumors of a price change existed, but they largely pointed to a $499 starting price.
Apple’s decision to go with $599 hints at more price changes ahead.
Big iPhone pricing shake-up could be coming
Before the iPhone 16e debuted, there were other reasons to suspect Apple was planning to shake up its iPhone pricing this fall.
For one, a price hike has been expected for a couple years already due to inflation, but Apple’s pricing so far has held firm.
More importantly though, the new iPhone 17 Air offers good reason for a pricing change.
Even though the 17 Air will replace the Plus model in Apple’s lineup, it’s been clear for a while that the device will have enough demand to justify a higher price.
Originally, rumors said the 17 Air would surpass even Apple’s Pro models in price. More recent reporting has countered those claims. But the sure-to-be popular new model remains Apple’s best reason yet for a pricing change.
Right now, Apple’s lineup looks like this:
- iPhone 16e: $599
- iPhone 15: $699
- iPhone 15 Plus: $799
- iPhone 16: $799
- iPhone 16 Plus: $899
- iPhone 16 Pro: $999
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: $1,199
Until this week, there was a $429 iPhone SE model as the entry device.
Now, with the most affordable iPhone starting at $599, the rest of the lineup is likely to push higher too.
What I’m expecting for iPhone 17 pricing
When Apple unveils its four new flagship iPhone 17 models this fall, I expect to see big pricing changes.
Likely something along these lines:
- iPhone 16e: $599
- iPhone 16: $749
- iPhone 16 Plus: $849
- iPhone 17: $899
- iPhone 17 Air: $999
- iPhone 17 Pro: $1,099
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,299
Essentially, every model will get more expensive by as much as $100. The new 17 Air will take the iPhone Pro’s $999 slot, pushing the Pro models to yet-unseen heights.
The iPhone 16e isn’t the primary reason I believe these changes will happen. I’d give more credit to the iPhone 17 Air’s expected popularity, and need for a higher price. But the 16e is the latest evidence that change is finally coming to the current pricing lineup.
Do you expect Apple’s iPhone lineup to get more expensive? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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