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President Donald Trump backed down from his sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” this week, but he upped the tax on goods from China to 125% and left the 10% tariff on other imports from other countries. Experts say you should expect to pay more for your next iPhone.
Trump announced the 90-day pause on his social media platform for all countries because they didn’t retaliate with their own tariffs. The lone exception was China, where Apple produces most of its products, which has responded to each of Trump’s tariff hikes this year by increasing tariffs on US products. The White House announced a 125% tariff on Wednesday, then clarified on Thursday that this is on top of the 20% tariffs imposed since February, increasing this year’s tariffs on China to 145%.
If Apple passed the China tariff costs on to customers, the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1TB of storage could increase from $1,599 to nearly $3,600 — assuming that the previously imposed 20% tariff was already incorporated into the current price.
That kind of sticker shock would cause many of us to reconsider purchasing a new iPhone, especially amid economic uncertainty. But Apple has ways to offset the impact of tariffs through its services — including its music, news and data plans — according to supply chain expert Joe Hudicka.
“Apple will likely absorb some of the tariff costs up front to keep sticker prices stable, then pass the rest on to consumers gradually through service bundles, device longevity and ecosystem upgrades,” he said. “Consumers will still pay, just not all at once.”
Apple has started to move some of its manufacturing to other countries, including India and Vietnam. Those countries were originally hit with their own “reciprocal tariffs” yesterday — Vietnam with a 46% hike and India a 26% increase — but were among the reprieved. However, they still face the 10% baseline tariff that went into effect last week.
And though experts don’t expect costs to rise on a 1-to-1 basis with tariffs on goods from China — and other countries — you should expect increases. It’s unclear, however, exactly how much of an impact the tariffs will actually have on prices. If rising prices cause demand to plummet, experts note that Apple and other producers could reduce their prices to stay competitive.
If you’re in the market for a new Apple device or an imported gaming system, like the Nintendo Switch 2 or PlayStation 5 Pro, here’s how tariffs could raise prices, and what you should do to prepare.
How much could iPhone prices go up with tariffs? We do the math
If the full cost of tariffs were passed on to shoppers, we’d see a 125% increase in prices on Apple products produced in China. Apple has moved some of its production to other countries, but most iPhones are still manufactured in China.
Here’s how it could affect the cost of an iPhone if the full tariffs were applied:
How could tariffs increase iPhone prices?
