The latest US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump have put Apple at a bit of a crossroads.
With multiple tariffs impacting countries worldwide, including a 10% charge on all imports from China, electronics makers like Apple will soon have to decide if they’ll take the brunt of the damage or redirect it to end consumers by increasing the price of goods. That includes the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and more.
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Some manufacturers, like Acer, have already suggested that upcoming laptops may cost up to 10% more than last year. According to Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America, Apple may follow a similar path, raising the prices across its product portfolio in order to keep its balance sheets in the green and investors satisfied.
In an interview with CNBC, Mohan says that if Apple takes on the added cost of tariffs and does not adjust its pricing models, the company could lose 26 cents in earnings per share. That translates to a 3.1% dip for the three-trillion-plus tech giant. Other scenarios include Apple increasing the price of its products by 3%, which would only reduce its loss to 21 cents per share.
Last year’s iPhone 16 Pro Max started at $1,199. With a 9% price increase, the iPhone 17 Pro Max would cost at least $1,300.
Mohan’s calculations are based on the tariffs that directly affect Apple’s supply chain and the theory that selling products at a higher cost will result in lower sales — with potential iPhone customers opting for an Android device instead and not turning back. That said, the golden number for Apple, according to Mohan, is 9%, which is needed to offset the cost of tariffs and customer loss.
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With the new price of entry for iPhones being set to $600 — Apple replaced the $429 iPhone SE with the $599 iPhone 16e yesterday — you can expect upcoming devices to also see a bump in pricing. Should the company take inspiration from Mohan and opt for a 9% price increase, some iPhone 17 models may cost as much as $1,300 at the base level.
That’s to say, everything will be getting more expensive very soon, and innovation will have little to do with it.
Source : https://www.zdnet.com/article/industry-analyst-predicts-iphones-to-get-9-price-hike-amidst-us-tariffs-and-i-believe-it/
