The eyes of technology enthusiasts are turning to Apple’s upcoming conference on September 9, where the company is expected to unveil a new generation of iPhone phones, amid speculation that this event will be one of its most prominent conferences in recent years.
New releases are gaining additional importance this year, with rumors circulating that Apple is preparing to reveal for the first time a foldable iPhone, which may be called “iPhone Ultra,” in addition to launching the “iPhone 18 Pro” series.
Estimates and analyzes indicate that the prices of new iPhones may rise, in light of the rising costs of some components, especially memory. The price of the “iPhone 17 Pro” started at $1,099, while expectations indicate that the price of the foldable phone may reach about $2,399, although the final price will not be determined before Apple’s official announcement.
These high expectations bring to the fore a broader question: How have iPhone prices changed since the device first appeared 19 years ago?
From $499 to over $2,000
When Apple unveiled the first iPhone in 2007, its price was $499. Adjusting for inflation, this amounts to about $800 today, which is close to the base price of the iPhone at the moment.
The following year, Apple followed a different policy with the launch of the “iPhone 3G,” as it reduced the starting price to $199, but it was linked to a two-year contract with the American telecommunications company AT&T, which was the exclusive carrier of the phone at the time.
The subsidized price remained at the level of $199 for several years, making obtaining a new iPhone relatively less expensive for consumers, before device prices began to gradually rise as reliance on telecommunications company subsidies declined.
With the launch of the “iPhone 8”, the starting price rose to $699, then it reached $799 with the launch of the “iPhone 12” in 2020.
Apple maintains the base iPhone price
Since 2020, Apple has been able to maintain the starting price of the basic iPhone at $799 for several years, while making significant improvements to the devices, whether in terms of screens, facial recognition systems, internal components, and storage capacity.
For example, the “iPhone 17” comes with a starting storage capacity of 256 GB, while the “iPhone 12” was offered at the same price of $799 with a capacity of only 64 GB. Apple also increased the basic storage capacity to 128 GB with the iPhone 14 in 2022.
In return, the company began to increase its revenues by expanding the “Pro” phone category. The price of the “iPhone 11 Pro” started at $999, and this price continued for years before Apple raised it to $1,099 with the “iPhone 17 Pro.”
iPhone and Samsung… price competition
Over the years, Samsung’s Galaxy S series phones have maintained prices close to iPhones, especially when comparing devices that do not receive support from telecommunications companies.
In 2012, the price of the iPhone 5 was about $649, compared to $599 for the Galaxy S III. In 2015, the price of the Galaxy S6 ranged between $650 and $685, while the price of the iPhone 6s started at $649.
In recent years, price competition between the two companies has increased, especially in the higher categories. While Apple maintained the price of the “iPhone Pro” at $999 for years, it raised the price to $1,099 with the “iPhone 17 Pro,” at a time when the prices of the “Galaxy S+” models remained in the range close to a thousand dollars.
As the date of the Apple conference approaches, the prices of the new generation of iPhone, especially the “iPhone 18 Pro” and the expected foldable phone, remain among the most prominent files that consumers are anticipating, in light of the possibility of the company entering a new phase of pricing its leading phones.
