Earlier this year, many Apple products (but not iPhones, AirPods or Watches) were hit with a huge set of price hikes. And then, more recently, Apple unveiled its new Mac mini range, which also comes at a 50% higher starting price than just five months before.
This left me (and probably a lot of other people) fearing the worst about the prices of the new stuff coming at Apple’s September 2026 event.
But as we watched new products being announced that were the same price, or actually better value, than their predecessors, I felt like I was watching Neo dodging RAM-ageddon bullets… even though the iPhone 18 Pro price rose, it felt reasonable.
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But then, just like Neo, we got clipped and dropped to the ground by the fact that Apple quietly increased the price sof all its older phones following the event. Here’s the new pricing for those models:
|
Model |
New starting price |
Old starting price |
|
iPhone 17 |
$899 / £899 |
$799 / £799 |
|
iPhone Air |
$1,099 / £1,099 |
$999 / £999 |
|
iPhone 17e |
$699 / £699 |
$599 / £599 |
|
iPhone 16 |
$799 / £799 |
$699 / £699 |
Let’s run through how well we did in different areas in the US and UK prices (it may differ elsewhere, of course).
|
New product |
Launch price |
Comparison model |
Launch price |
|
Apple Watch Series 12 |
$399 / £369 |
Apple Watch Series 11 |
$399 / £369 |
|
Apple Watch Ultra Series 4 |
$799 / £749 |
Apple Watch Ultra Series 3 |
$799 / £749 |
|
AirPods 5 |
$129 / £119 |
AirPods 4 |
$129 / £119 |
|
AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case |
$149 / £139 |
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation |
$179 / $169 |
|
iPhone 18 Pro |
$1,199 / £1,199 |
iPhone 17 Pro |
$1,099 / £1,099 |
|
iPhone 18 Pro Max |
$1,299 / £1,299 |
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
$1,199 / £1,199 |
|
iPhone Duo |
$1,999 / £1,999 |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra |
$2,099 / £1,899 |
Apple Watch
A nice easy win here — we got new features across both the new regular model and the new Ultra, and we got them for the same price as the previous model. That’s pretty great given the levels of inflation we’re dealing with.
The only potentially offputting thing is Apple’s slightly new always-listening Siri Recap option, now — but not the price, mercifully.
AirPods 5
These were the big win on value, in my opinion. When reporting on the AirPods 5 rumors, we said that we really wanted to see Apple improve what you got for the money specifically, because its entry-level were behind the best budget earbuds from competitors.
Well, that’s exactly what we got. The basic AirPods 5 now have active noise cancellation, and along with other improvements this should make them competitive again at the same price. And the mid-range AirPods 5 model get on-ear volume controls and a few other small quality-of-life upgrades, which makes them cheaper than last year’s mid-range model. It’s a win all around — and you can pre-order them today.
iPhone 18 Pro
This is where things get rockier — but both models have a relatively modest $100 price increase in the US, which is under 10%, and in the world of 2026, I’ll take that.
Of course, they’ve also improved compared to the previous model, and from what Apple’s saying the new variable aperture camera system and the much longer battery life provided by the (somehow also super-powerful) A20 Pro chip might be well worth the extra cash.
iPhone Duo
Look, do I think $1,999 is an appealing price for a phone? It’s not what I’d choose to pay. I wasn’t happy about the rumors of it being that high, but it was kind of inevitable. However, the iPhone Duo folding phone needs to be assessed in context — and that context is: the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra costs more in the US (in the UK, Samsung has the edge).
It only costs $100 more, I’ll grant you, but a win is a win — and again, given the price rises elsewhere in Apple’s range earlier this year, I think it was far from a given that its fancy folder was going to actually undercut the competition.
It’s not all roses
Will we be as lucky with future releases? Perhaps not. It’s notable that these product categories are some of the few that didn’t get price rises in the hikes earlier this year.
We’re expecting the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini to get new versions soon, for example, and these will probably arrive with the same price the current models do… which were just jacked up significantly. Same for the rumored new entry-level iPad.
And then there’s the small matter of Apple having raised the prices of all its existing iPhone models. Unlike the iPhone 18 Pro, those increases don’t come with any hardware or performance upgrades — they’re just more expensive.
And I assume this means we’re not getting a base iPhone 18 at all, if all these phones are sticking around with higher prices.
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