There are only a few short weeks left until Apple's September event, where we expect to see the iPhone 15 series and Apple Watch Series 9 among other exciting new announcements. But if you're thinking about trading in your aging handset for one of the best iPhones, odds are there's just one question on your mind leading up to Apple's big shindig: How much will upgrading my phone cost?
Rumors have been swirling for months now that the iPhone 15 series could be Apple's most expensive iPhone range to date. Sources speaking to DigiTimes this week suggest there could be a $100 to $200 price jump this time around, bumping the start price of the iPhone 15 Pro to as high as $1,099 and the iPhone 15 Pro Max (which Apple may rebrand as the iPhone 15 Ultra) to $1,299. While this tracks with previous rumors of an impending price hike, there's no mention of increases for the vanilla iPhone 15 or the iPhone 15 Plus though. We have our fingers crossed that they'll still start at $799 and $899 respectively as their iPhone 14 counterparts did.
iPhone 15 series price breakdown
- iPhone 15: starting from $799
- iPhone 15 Plus: starting from $899
- iPhone 15 Pro: starting from $1,099
- iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra: starting from $1,299
It's been speculated Apple could ditch the Pro Max name this time around, rebranding it as the iPhone 15 Ultra both to justify the increase and better set apart Apple's most premium phone from the rest of the lineup.
With the last iPhone generation, international markets saw price increases to keep up with inflation. U.S. buyers were spared, but creeping production costs, supply chain issues everywhere and inflation with current market conditions seem to have finally forced Apple's hand stateside.
A higher price tag is already predicted to impact Apple's sales significantly. DigiTimes reports the change could result in an 8% drop in expected shipments, although this could be attributed at least in part to a general 5% drop in total global smartphone sales. That still works out to 77 million iPhone 15 units sold though, so Apple's likely to weather it just fine.
Fortunately for Apple's bottom line, the iPhone 15 series could still justify the higher price tag thanks to other rumored upgrades like larger storage capacities, bigger batteries and Dynamic Islands for all four expected versions. As for its higher-end models, which seem poised to be the most impacted, the Pro models' Action button and a periscope telephoto camera on the Pro Max model could be enough to convince Apple users to still shell out for the latest iPhone.
