- Donald Trump has announced sweeping rates on imports from major US trading partners such as EU and China
- Speculators have suggested that the price of iPhone could hit $ 2,300 due to tariffs
- We checked in with industry analysts for a balanced perspective
Donald Trump has announced that the United States will charge sweeping tariffs for international trade that is likely to affect the tech industry – with some projections suggesting a $ 2,300 iPhone could be on the cards.
Trump’s proposed tariffs announced on April 3 will affect imports from a long list of countries, including allies such as Canada and the European Union as well as major production economies such as China and Vietnam.
Across the tech industry, commentators and consumers are investigating what this can mean to them and as one might expect the news media and the Internet to have lit with speculation.
According to Pakinomist, projections from Rosenblatt Securities suggest that the price of a “high-end” iPhone could rise to $ 2,300 (about £ 1,800 / AU $ 3,800).
It’s actually a big price increase, but it comes with a few very important warnings. This estimate appears to be based on the price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1 TB of storage, which for $ 1,599 / £ 1,599 / AU $ 2,149 is already the most expensive phone Apple sells. To obtain a price of $ 2,300, Apple had to transfer the entire proposed 54% duty charged against China to consumers.
Apple manufactures iPhones in other Southeast Asian and South Asian countries such as Vietnam and India, although both of these countries have been hit with steep proposed tariffs: Vietnam of 46% and India of 26%.
Reality: Which industry experts say
So are we probably seeing a massive price increase for iPhone? We checked in with industry analysts to get a balanced point of view.
Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at Avatrade, said to Techradar: “The idea of a $ 2,300 iPhone grabs headlines, but that’s more worst case than the real world. Yes, a 54% duty of a $ 1,599 iPhone 16 Pro
Leaman continued: “Apple typically absorbs 10-15% of shocks through margin compression and supply chain efficiency. This means the actual price increases can be closer to 20-25%. So we probably look at a top-end iPhone that maximizes around $ 1,900 at the end of the year.”
Leaman also notes that Apple’s promised investments of $ 500 billion in the United States can lead to the company pressing for exceptions: “Apple is already changing production to India and Vietnam, and with $ 500 billion invested in the United States, it is expected to push harder on ‘made in America’ exceptions.
Nick Rakovsky, CEO of Datadocks, offers another balanced roof that calls the prospect of a $ 2,300 iPhone “unlikely”.
Rakovsky said to Techradar: Unless we talk about wider inflation pressure across the economy, Apple has every reason to avoid passing on such a dramatic cost increase directly on consumers. “
Continued Rakovsky continued, “That said, all companies will feel a certain level of pain from these new tariffs – Apple included. The interesting question is how well each company can absorb or adapt to this influence. Apple, like the other tech giants, has been working on diversifying its supply chain and making it more resilient for years now.”
Rakovsky also notes that Apple is eager to preserve its market share and protect its brand view, add: “It comes to pricing strategy, and few do better than Apple”.
Listed Apple analyst and social media tipster Ming-Chi Kuo has also joined the conversation and noticed in a post for X (formerly Twitter) that “85-90% of Apple’s hardware is collected in China”.
As mentioned, China has been hit by the heaviest tariffs of 54%, and KUO adds that China will be unlikely to negotiate this rate.
Kuo added: “India and Vietnam are far more likely than China to secure US duty exemptions. Although the timeline is unclear, this would speed up Apple’s shift of assembly orders away from China until non-Chinese production can satisfy most US demand.”
In addition, KUO mentioned that advanced consumers may be more acceptable to price increases.
Judgment: What all this means
In general, the common threads of several analysts suggest that a price increase for iPhone cannot be excluded, but Apple’s effective supply chain and ability to accept a minor profit margin may isolate consumers from the full effects of duty.
All this means that a $ 2,300 iPhone seems like a pretty unlikely view at the time of writing.
Many other devices sold by Apple and other manufacturers are manufactured in countries to be affected by tariffs, but for now we have not seen much analysis focusing on these products and cannot comment on any potential pricing.
To have an update on that handset, be sure to check out our iPhone 16 Pro Max Review and Guide to the Best Iphones. We have the latest iPhone news as we hear it through our dedicated iPhone coverage.
