Every iPhone Just Got Pricier: What to Buy

Apple didn’t just price its new iPhones higher on September 9. It raised the price of every iPhone it sells, including models a year old that received no changes whatsoever. The iPhone 17 you could buy for $799 on Tuesday costs $899 on Wednesday. Same phone.

But here’s the part that actually matters this week, and it has a deadline: not every retailer followed Apple up. Some are cutting iPhone 17 prices hard to clear stock before the iPhone 18 Pro ships on September 18, while others have matched Apple’s increase. Which shop you walk into right now can be a couple of hundred dollars’ difference on the same phone, and that gap closes in six days.

We’ve been tracking the memory shortage pushing up prices across phones, laptops, and consoles all year. This is its sharpest consumer moment yet, so here’s what changed, where the remaining bargains are, and what I’d buy.

The Six-Day Window (and It’s Split by Retailer)

Retailers bought their iPhone 17 stock at old prices, and they’re now choosing between clearing it cheap or repricing it up. Both are happening simultaneously.

• Cutting prices to clear stock: Amazon UK has the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max at £150 below launch, with the base iPhone 17 at £100 off. EE dropped the 17 Pro to £999 and the Pro Max to £1,099. JB Hi-Fi in Australia cut the base iPhone 17 to AUD$1,399 from AUD$1,499. MediaMarkt Germany has the 17 Pro Max 256GB at €1,329, down from €1,449, and MediaMarkt Spain cut the base iPhone 17 to €919.
• Matching Apple’s increase instead: John Lewis in the UK has adopted Apple’s new higher pricing. Fnac Darty in France raised the base iPhone 17 to €1,119. MediaMarkt Germany, despite discounting the Pro Max, nudged the base iPhone 17 slightly above its original launch price.

So the same model can differ by hundreds depending where you look, and there’s no logic to it beyond each retailer’s stock position. Check three retailers before buying anything this week.

Once the iPhone 18 Pro ships on September 18 and remaining stock clears, those discounts disappear, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max vanish entirely outside the refurbished and used markets, because Apple discontinued both on announcement day.

What Changed, Model by Model

US starting prices, with the previous price alongside:

Every model, $100 more at base. Increases have been applied internationally, with local amounts varying by market.

And the big-storage configurations rose far more than $100. The iPhone 18 Pro Max at 2TB now costs $2,499, against $1,999 for the equivalent tier last generation, a $500 increase. The iPhone 18 Pro at 2TB runs $2,399, and the 2TB iPhone Duo reaches $3,199, making it the most expensive configuration Apple sells.

The practical lesson: buy less storage than you think you need and manage it properly. Storage is precisely where the shortage is biting, so a 256GB phone plus disciplined habits around photos and offline downloads saves serious money this year, and those habits are exactly what we’ve written about at length.

Why Year-Old Phones Cost More Than They Did Last Week

The phones didn’t change. The components inside them did.

TechInsights estimated that the DRAM package in an iPhone 17 Pro cost Apple around $39, with the equivalent memory for the iPhone 18 Pro projected at roughly $145. That’s a 272% increase for the same memory configuration, and it’s the single clearest number explaining everything on this page.

Tim Cook said it plainly in June, calling price increases unavoidable and describing Apple’s attempts to shield customers as having become unsustainable. Apple raised Mac and iPad prices then; this is the iPhone shoe dropping.

The structural point: a phone Apple still manufactures is a phone Apple still buys memory for, at today’s prices. Once component costs rise far enough, keeping the old sticker means worse margins every month. Notably, Apple isn’t alone in this, with Samsung having raised prices on an existing device earlier this year for the same reasons.

The iPhone 17 Pro Is Gone

Both the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max were discontinued on September 9, removing what is usually the best value in Apple’s lineup: last year’s Pro at a discount.

The autumn lineup is unusually thin as a result. There’s no standard iPhone 18 either, since Apple split its release calendar and the base model isn’t expected until spring 2027, exactly the pattern we flagged back in August.

What to Actually Buy Now

The advice we’ve given all year, buy last year’s model, breaks this time, because Apple repriced last year’s models too and deleted the Pro line. Here’s the revised version.

• Shop the split, this week. Retailer stock at old or discounted pricing is the only genuine bargain left, and it’s gone after September 18. Compare at least three sellers, since one may be £150 below launch while another sits above it.
• Take refurbished seriously. Certified refurbished and second-hand phones were priced before this increase, which makes them better value today than a week ago. The checks that matter haven’t changed.
• Sell your old phone now if you’re upgrading. Values fall fast after a launch, with one industry figure noting Pro and Pro Max resale values can drop by £150 to £300 within weeks. Apple also raised its trade-in values by up to 30% ahead of the launch, so compare its offer against buyback services rather than assuming either wins.
• Or keep what you have. A phone whose only real fault is the battery can be revived for a fraction of $899, and iOS 27 supports the iPhone 11 and newer, so even a five-year-old handset gets this year’s software.

Verdicts by Budget

• Under $700: the iPhone 17e at $699, or better, a refurbished iPhone 15 or 16. The refurbished market now beats new at this tier.
• $800 to $900: the iPhone 16 at $799 or the iPhone 17 at $899, but check retailers first, since discounted stock may undercut both.
• $1,000 to $1,200: hunt remaining iPhone 17 Pro stock at retailers before it clears. At £999 or equivalent it’s the best phone-per-pound in the lineup right now, and it won’t be available in a week.
• $1,200 and up: the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,199 is a genuine generational upgrade, and 256GB is the sane configuration.
• The iPhone Duo at $1,999: Apple’s first foldable, and first-generation foldables are where regret concentrates. We’ve written about what that category actually asks of you; wait for reviews rather than preordering.

Quick Answers

How much did iPhone prices go up?

Every model rose $100 at base, with larger increases on high-storage tiers. The 2TB iPhone 18 Pro Max is $2,499, up from $1,999 for the equivalent tier last year.

Why did the iPhone 17 get more expensive when it didn’t change?

Because memory costs surged. TechInsights estimated the DRAM in an iPhone 17 Pro cost Apple about $39, with the iPhone 18 Pro’s equivalent projected near $145.

Can I still get an iPhone 17 at the old price?

At some retailers, until stock clears around September 18. Amazon UK, EE, JB Hi-Fi and MediaMarkt have been discounting, while John Lewis and Fnac Darty have matched Apple’s increase. Compare before buying.

Is the iPhone 17 Pro still available?

Not from Apple. Both Pro models were discontinued on September 9, so remaining retailer stock is finite, after which it’s refurbished or used only.

Should I wait for prices to drop?

Unlikely to help. Component costs are forecast to stay high into 2027, and Apple has just repriced its entire lineup.

The Bottom Line

The comfortable assumption that last year’s iPhone is the smart buy died this week, because Apple repriced last year’s iPhones too and deleted the Pro models entirely. What’s left is a six-day window where some retailers are clearing old stock cheap while others have already followed Apple up, which means checking three shops is worth more than any other advice on this page. After September 18, the discounted iPhone 17 Pro stops existing. So compare aggressively this week, buy 256GB rather than a storage tier that’s risen by hundreds, lock your trade-in quote today, and if your current phone only needs a battery, that’s a $99 answer to an $899 question.

Explainer Video