Apple has become wildly popular in the smartphone industry for years since the initial release of the infamous iPhone. The iPhone became popular for its user-friendly operating system, its premium build quality, and its social influence amongst the modern generation. Unfortunately, iPhones aren’t exactly known for their low prices. If you want a taste of what it’s like to be a part of this exclusive club, you’re going to have to pay what some might consider “an arm and a leg.” Even the latest budget iPhone, the iPhone 16e, will run you $600 for features not worth the price.
It doesn’t help that inflation and tariffs drive up prices on consumer goods, specifically electronics. In April 2025, President Donald Trump announced tariffs on electronics imported to the United States. Unfortunately, for consumers like us, the most expensive iPhone can be priced as high as $2,000. Absurd prices for a phone, especially when other electronics offer similar features for prices as low as 300$. This recent announcement of the upsurge in pricing has people rushing to buy the latest iPhone before the prices skyrocket.
Junior Nick Taveras at Wayne Hills High School, “I’m at the point in time where I’m unaffected by this, but in the near future, I feel like this is a problem that the U.S. needs to address much sooner rather than later.”
To add on the rise in pricing, rumors have been spreading that the iPhone 17 will be the most expensive, even without the tariffs. The rumored price of the new iPhone is a crazy $2,300. This price is only possible if you pick the most expensive episode out of the roster, and if you choose the 1 terabit option. It’s still insane to pay almost 4 times the price of a normal smartphone. Many people are beginning to have the urge to switch to Android due to the pricing and underwhelming materials that the new iPhones are made of.
Junior at Wayne Hills Highschool Sophia Salaska, says, “That’s absurd, I’m not a bank. Who’s actually going to pay that price? In my honest opinion, every new phone is the same, and you’re just buying it because it’s the latest phone, not because you actually need it.” It’s safe to assume that Apple consumers aren’t happy with the recent pricing of their new products.
All in all, the rise in pricing of the iPhone will affect us one way or another in either the near future or many years from now. iPhone consumers might start finding other products to buy, and drop Apple altogether. While it’s sad, this could very well be the end of the iPhone.
