Summer time is nice for going to the seashore, however a foul time to purchase an iPhone—particularly the top-of-the-line mannequin. Historically, Apple releases new fashions in mid-September. If the sample holds, the iPhone 17 collection will drop this fall, and Apple’s value construction will change, making older gadgets cheaper.
So maintain onto that cracked-screened cellphone for just a bit longer should you can, and you can both get the most recent mannequin, or pay much less for an older one, And should you should purchase an iPhone this summer season, and you do not care about having the most effective cellphone attainable, one mannequin specifically is a comparatively secure buy.
September means new Apple Merchandise (often)
Though there isn’t any date presently scheduled for Apple’s subsequent huge iPhone occasion, the hypothesis is Apple will announce the iPhone 17 on Tuesday, Sept. 9, or Wednesday, Sept. 10, and it’ll go on sale every week or so later. It is a part of a yearly sample: The iPhone 16 collection (iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Professional, and 16 Professional Max) was launched on September 20, 2024. The 15 collection was launched September 22, 2023, the iPhone 14 collection got here out on September 16, 2022, and so forth. and so forth.
Some years, Apple breaks issues up. The iPhone 12 was introduced in October 2020 and got here out shortly after (although you’ll be able to in all probability blame COVID for that one), and the iPhone X didn’t hit shops till November 2017, despite the fact that it was introduced in September. However mid-September is a secure wager for the next-gen iPhone announcement.
How iPhone costs are more likely to change when the iPhone 17 is launched
Should you will need to have the most recent cellphone, it is best to positively maintain off in your buy till September—you don’t wish to purchase Apple’s top-of-the-line mannequin solely to have the most effective cellphone for a pair months. However should you’re like me, and also you’re cool with the less-expensive, second-best mannequin, it’s in all probability nonetheless higher to chill your heels till the Apple announcement anticipated in September.
When Apple formally reveals a brand new mannequin, the worth of older telephones falls, often as quickly because the announcement is made. There isn’t any means of predicting how far the worth of older mannequin iPhones will drop when the brand new one is introduced, however, final 12 months when Apple introduced the iPhone 16, the worth of the 15 dropped by $100, and “$100 much less” has been the sample of older-model value drops over the previous few generations.
Whereas there is no method to know for sure, there’s purpose to anticipate 17 collection iPhones will probably be costlier than 16 collection had been after they was launched. It has been 5 years since Apple hiked the worth of its telephones, and the corporate has by no means gone six years with out elevating the worth on its commonplace mannequin. How rather more the worth will go up is anybody’s guess. Apple raised the worth of the iPhone 7, 8, and XR in $50 increments over two years beginning in 2017. Nevertheless it hiked the worth of the iPhone 12 by $130 in 2020.
What do you assume to this point?
Then there are tariffs to contemplate.
How will tariffs have an effect on the worth of the subsequent iPhone?
The brief reply: Nobody is aware of. President Trump has stated that Apple will face a 25% tariff on iPhones produced outdoors the US, and that will nearly positively increase the worth of the product for customers, however President Trump says a whole lot of issues, together with that good telephones could be exempt from tariffs, so there is no method to know if and the way a lot tariffs will increase the worth of iPhones.
The one Apple cellphone it’s in all probability secure to purchase now
Should you can’t wait and also you want an inexpensive iPhone now, your greatest wager is the iPhone 16e. Apple’s budget-conscious SE telephones have a sporadic launch schedule. The primary got here out in 2016, the second in 2020, and the third in 2022. The iPhone 16e was launched in February of this 12 months, so the $599 value is more likely to keep the identical for some time, and it is a fantastic cellphone for the worth.
