Apple to unveil next iPhone amid Trump trade war that could result in
higher prices
[September 09, 2025] By
MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Apple on Tuesday will unveil its next line-up of iPhones amid a global
trade war that's added a potential price increase to the usual intrigue
surrounding the annual evolution of the company's marquee product.
The new iPhones will be the first to be released since President Donald
Trump returned to the White House and unleashed a barrage of tariffs, in
what his administration says is an attempt to bring overseas
manufacturing back to the U.S. — a crusade that has thrust Apple CEO Tim
Cook into the hot seat.
If Apple follows the same naming scheme since the product's 2007 debut,
the new models will be called the iPhone 17. But the Cupertino,
California, company recently deviated from tradition with its naming
formula for the iPhone operating system. When the next version of its
iOS system was previewed at its developers conference in June, Apple
revealed the free update will be called iOS 26 in reference to the
upcoming year — a marketing technique that automakers have embraced for
decades.
Regardless, these new iPhones are still expected to be made in Apple's
manufacturing hubs in China and India, much to the Trump
administration's consternation.
Both Trump and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have repeatedly
insisted that iPhones be made in the U.S. instead of overseas. It's an
unrealistic demand that analysts say would take years to pull off and
would result in a doubling, or even a tripling, of the iPhone's current
average price of about $1,000.
Cook tried to placate Trump by initially pledging that Apple would
invest $500 billion i n the U.S. over the next four years, and then
upped the ante last month by adding another $100 billion to the
commitment. He also gifted Trump a statue featuring a 24-karat gold
base.
That kind of diplomacy has helped insulate Apple from Trump's most
severe tariffs. However, the iPhones being brought into the U.S. still
face duties of about 25%, stoking speculation that the company will
reveal its first across-the-board price increase in five years in an
effort to preserve its hefty profit margins.
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 Since 2020, Apple has charged $800
for its basic iPhone and $1,200 for its top offering, but analysts
now believe the company may raise prices by $50 to $100 on some of
the new models. If Apple does announce price increases, it will come
just weeks after Google held steady on prices for its new Pixel
smartphones.
Whatever Apple ends up charging for the next iPhone,
the new line-up isn't expected to be much different from last year's
model — the first to be designed for a wide range of new artificial
intelligence features. While the iPhone 16 has proven to be popular,
the models didn't sell quite as well as analysts had anticipated
because Apple failed to deliver all the AI-fueled improvements it
had promised, including a smarter and more versatile Siri assistant.
The Siri improvements have been pushed back until next year.
That has lowered the expectations for this year's line-up, which
will likely include the usual improvements in camera quality and
battery life on top of a slightly redesigned appearance. The most
significant new twist could be the introduction of an ultra-thin
iPhone dubbed “Air” — a moniker Apple already slaps on like its
sleekest iPads and Mac computers.
The relatively minor updates to recent iPhone models are raising
questions about Apple's ability to innovate in the fast-moving era
of AI, said Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson. “Apple is
reaching a tipping point, and I expect 2026 and 2027 to be pivotal
years."
Apple's AI follies, combined with its exposure in Trump's trade war,
have weighed on the company's stock, while the market values of Big
Tech peers like Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Google parent
Alphabet have been surging.
Although Apple's stock price is still down by 4% so far this year,
the shares have been bouncing back in recent months amid signs it
won't be as hard hit by the tariffs as once feared, and a highly
anticipated court ruling cleared the way for the company to continue
receiving $20 billion annually to lock in Google's search engine as
the default option on iPhones.
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