iPhone · 8 min read
iPhone price increase 2026: how much more the new iPhones cost, country by country
Apple raised prices this cycle, but not evenly. We compare every like-for-like model against last year's launch price in 12 markets.
Yes, iPhones got more expensive this cycle. In the US the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, +9.1% on the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro it replaced, and the 18 Pro Max is +8.3% on its predecessor. Across 12 Apple storefronts the median increase was +9.5% for the Pro and +8.5% for the Pro Max, measured in local currency. Older models did not get the usual launch-day discount either: of 48 prices we can compare with our 2026-07-03 snapshot, every one rose.
How we measured the increase
We compare like with like, inside the same Apple store and in the same currency. For the two Pro models, the comparison is each new phone’s starting price against the last official price of the model it replaced. For phones Apple kept selling after the launch, it is today’s price (2026-10-13) against the same phone’s price in our 2026-07-03 snapshot. All prices are for base storage and come from Apple’s own storefronts. The 2026-07-03 snapshot is the last one we took before the new phones went on sale, so it captures the old price list as it stood just ahead of the launch. Keeping everything in local currency means a weaker or stronger exchange rate cannot make an increase look bigger or smaller than Apple actually made it.
Pro models: new against old, country by country
| Country | 17 Pro → 18 Pro | 17 Pro Max → 18 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
| 🇯🇵Japan | +22% (¥179,800 → ¥219,800) | +23% |
| 🇮🇳India | +22% (₹134,900 → ₹164,900) | +20% |
| 🇭🇰Hong Kong | +12% (HK$9,399 → HK$10,499) | +13% |
| 🇩🇪Germany | +12% (€1,299 → €1,449) | +10% |
| 🇹🇭Thailand | +11% (THB 43,900 → THB 48,900) | +8.2% |
| 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia | +9.6% (SAR 5,199 → SAR 5,699) | +7.0% |
| 🇨🇦Canada | +9.4% (CA$1,599 → CA$1,749) | +8.6% |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | +9.1% (£1,099 → £1,199) | +8.3% |
| 🇺🇸United States | +9.1% ($1,099 → $1,199) | +8.3% |
| 🇸🇬Singapore | +8.6% (SGD 1,749 → SGD 1,899) | +11% |
| 🇦🇪United Arab Emirates | +8.5% (AED 4,699 → AED 5,099) | +7.8% |
| 🇦🇺Australia | +5.0% (A$1,999 → A$2,099) | +4.5% |
The Pro took the larger percentage rise in 9 of 12 countries. That pattern matters if you were weighing the two sizes: where the Pro rose faster, the gap between the small and large model shrank. The country-by-country Pro Max detail, including the increase in dollars and days of income, is in our 18 Pro Max vs 17 Pro Max comparison.
The models still on sale went up too
When Apple launches a new generation it has historically trimmed the price of the phones it keeps selling. This year’s data says otherwise. In the US, every carried-over model costs more than it did then: the iPhone 17 went from $799 to $899, the iPhone Air went from $999 to $1,099, the iPhone 17e went from $599 to $699 and the iPhone 16 went from $699 to $799. The table shows the change since 2026-07-03 in every market, steepest average first.
| Country | 17 | Air | 17e | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇳India | +21% | +25% | +23% | +29% |
| 🇯🇵Japan | +23% | +19% | +25% | +22% |
| 🇩🇪Germany | +16% | +8.3% | +21% | +18% |
| 🇹🇭Thailand | +17% | +10% | +17% | +15% |
| 🇭🇰Hong Kong | +13% | +10% | +18% | +17% |
| 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia | +13% | +11% | +18% | +15% |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | +13% | +10% | +17% | +14% |
| 🇺🇸United States | +13% | +10% | +17% | +14% |
| 🇨🇦Canada | +15% | +10% | +11% | +15% |
| 🇸🇬Singapore | +12% | +9.4% | +16% | +14% |
| 🇦🇪United Arab Emirates | +12% | +9.3% | +15% | +13% |
| 🇦🇺Australia | +11% | +5.6% | +15% | +8.0% |
By median across countries, the biggest rise among these models was the iPhone 17e (+17%) and the smallest the iPhone Air (+10%). One model left the store instead: the iPhone 16 Plus is no longer listed, so its last price is frozen on our iPhone 16 Plus page.
The price of the cheapest iPhone
For many buyers the number that matters is not the flagship but the cost of getting into the range at all. Taking the least expensive phone each Apple store listed on 2026-07-03 and the least expensive it lists now, the entry price rose in all 12 countries. In the US the cheapest model is still the iPhone 17e, but it moved from $599 to $699. The largest jump in the entry price was in Japan, from ¥99,800 to ¥124,800 (+25%); the smallest was in Canada (+11%). In other words, the increase was not confined to people buying a top-end Pro: the floor rose too.
Which countries were hit hardest
Averaging every like-for-like comparison above (up to 6 per country), India saw the steepest increases at +23% on average, followed by Japan (+22%) and Germany (+14%). The mildest were Australia (+8.1%) and the United Arab Emirates (+11%). A large local-currency increase does not always mean the phone is now expensive by world standards; it can be Apple catching up after a currency has weakened. To see where each model now sits in dollar terms, use the cheapest country to buy an iPhone ranking, or the per-country pages such as the 18 Pro in India. The gap between the hardest-hit and mildest market is about 15 percentage points, which is large enough that two shoppers in different countries can have very different experiences of the same launch. Every model and storefront is tracked on the iPhone price tracker.
How to soften the increase
- Look down the range. The least expensive iPhone Apple sells in the US is now the iPhone 17e at $699. See every 2026 iPhone price for where the new models sit.
- Check carriers and retailers. Our figures are Apple’s own list prices; other sellers set their own and sometimes discount older stock.
- Compare in local money. If you are thinking of buying abroad, a currency move can make a country look cheaper this month and dearer the next.
iPhone price increase: common questions
Did Apple raise iPhone prices in 2026?
Yes. In the US the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199, against $1,099 for the 17 Pro (+9.1%). Across the 12 countries we track, the median Pro increase was +9.5% in local currency.
Did older iPhones get cheaper when the iPhone 18 launched?
No. All 48 model-and-country prices we can compare with our 2026-07-03 snapshot went up, including the iPhone 17, Air, 17e and 16.
Which country saw the biggest iPhone price increase?
India, averaging +23% across the like-for-like comparisons in this guide. The mildest was Australia at +8.1%.
Why compare in local currency instead of US dollars?
Because exchange rates move between snapshots. A dollar comparison mixes Apple's pricing decision with currency swings; comparing the same store's price in its own currency isolates what Apple actually changed.