iPhone 17 is about to increase in price?
(Dan Tri) - Fixed Focus Digital account specializing in leaking news about Apple on Weibo said the company may increase the price of iPhone 17 from August 10. However, Apple has not confirmed this information.
According to the Fixed Focus Digital account on social network Weibo, Apple is considering adjusting the price of iPhone 17 and the time of application could be as soon as August 10. This information raises the possibility that Apple will increase the price of iPhone 17 in many markets globally.
Apple may adjust the price of iPhone 17 (Photo: CNet).
However, this is just leaked information and has not been confirmed by Apple. Outside sources have not yet given a specific increase or a list of markets that may be affected.
Fixed Focus Digital is an account that regularly posts information related to Apple's supply chain and unreleased products. Some information from this account has been tracked by technology sites like MacRumors, but leaked information should still be viewed with caution until there is confirmation from Apple or an independent source.
Apple has increased iPhone prices in Japan
The possibility of Apple adjusting the price of iPhone 17 comes into focus in the context that the company increased iPhone prices in Japan in mid-July.
In this market, the price of iPhone 17 256GB version increased from 129,800 to 142,800 yen, equivalent to about 10%. iPhone 17 Pro 256GB increased by 8.3%, to 194,800 yen, while iPhone 17 Pro Max increased by about 10%. iPhone Air increased by 11% and iPhone 17e increased by 8%. Apple also adjusted the price of iPhone 16 in Japan.
However, the price increase in Japan is not evidence that Apple will increase iPhone prices globally. Sources in Japan believe that the weakening of the yen against the USD is one of the notable reasons. Apple did not announce the specific reason for this adjustment.
Previously, Apple increased the prices of some Mac and iPad models in many markets in June. This move took place after CEO Tim Cook warned that the cost of memory and storage chips would increase sharply due to tight supply.
Tim Cook warns that Apple product prices will increase
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in June, Apple CEO Tim Cook said product price increases were inevitable due to the sharp increase in memory and storage chip costs.
The shortage of components seriously affects iPhone product operations (Photo: NotebookCheck).
"Demand for memory and storage is rising, while supply is limited," Cook said, saying Apple is trying to reduce the impact of component costs on users but the situation has become unsustainable.
According to Reuters, Cook did not disclose the timing, the increase or the specific products that would be affected. Therefore, this statement cannot be used to confirm that Apple will increase the price of iPhone 17 globally on August 10.
Cost pressures mainly come from the memory market. Huge demand from data centers serving artificial intelligence is causing a significant portion of memory supply to be prioritized for server systems, thereby shrinking the supply for consumer electronics.
Cook even described the current surge in memory prices as a "hundred-year flood", and said he had never seen a similar situation in more than 40 years of work.
Memory shortages are also putting pressure on production of next-generation iPhone models.
Analyst Tim Culpan recently said DRAM supply could become a bottleneck in chip production for the iPhone 18 Pro. According to information cited by many technology sources, about 1 billion USD of processor chips are said to be waiting for DRAM supply to complete the packaging stage.
The A20 Pro chip is expected to be manufactured on TSMC's N2 process and use new packaging technology, in which the processor is combined with memory. According to Culpan's report, the lack of DRAM could cause a portion of the manufactured processor chip to wait before moving on to the next packaging step.
If this situation persists, the impact could spread to downstream stages of the supply chain, including circuit board assembly and device completion. Foxconn and BYD are partners involved in manufacturing and assembling Apple devices in China.
However, it should be noted that the above figure of about 1 billion USD is information from analysts and has not been publicly confirmed by Apple or TSMC. Existing reports also suggest that Apple and its partners are still finding ways to ensure enough supply for the launch of the new generation iPhone.
Therefore, at the present time, the possibility of iPhone 17 price increasing globally is still just a rumor. The fact that Apple has increased iPhone prices in Japan and warned about memory costs shows that price increase pressure is real, but there is not enough basis to confirm that iPhone 17 prices in other markets will be adjusted.