iPhones Are Getting More Expensive, but AirPods Are Cheaper Than Ever

Khamosh Pathak Khamosh Pathak Freelance Writer ExperienceKhamosh Pathak is a freelance tech journalist with over 13 years of experience writing online. An accounting graduate, he turned his interest in writing and technology into a career. He holds a specialization in user experience design from ISDI Parsons in Mumbai, where he sought to deepen his understanding of UX, consumer devices, and interplay between software and technology.Khamosh has written thousands of how-tos and guides on every major platform (iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows). He got started writing how-tos and guides for Guiding Tech, where he also published several e-books. His work has also been seen at MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and PCMag. He is truly passionate about brewing good coffee. Read Full Bio September 9, 2026 Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google Credit: Apple Key Takeaways Apple is increasing the price of all existing iPhone models, including iPhone 17e, iPhone 16, and iPhone 17. The newly released AirPods 5 are actually cheaper than the outgoing model. The Apple Watch series has surprisingly missed the price bump. Table of Contents RAMageddon is real, and it’s finally come for the iPhone. Thanks to the ever-increasing costs of memory and storage, the prices of virtually all tech products are going up. A couple of months ago, Apple increased the pricing for the Mac and the iPad, by a couple of hundred dollars. Now, it’s the iPhone’s turn: Suddenly, all the iPhones are now $100 more expensive than they were yesterday, and the newly announced models are $100 more expensive than last year. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The new AirPods are actually cheaper, and mercifully, some Apple products remain the same price.The $100 iPhone bump Credit: Khamosh Pathak At the September keynote event, Apple introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for 256GB storage, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max is now $1,399. Both of them are $100 more than the starting price of comparable iPhone 17 Pro/Max models. The price bump doesn't stop with the new phones: Apple has flipped a switch and bumped prices on all existing iPhone models by $100. While Apple did not introduce an iPhone 18, the price of the iPhone 17 has quietly gone up; it now starts at $899 for the 256GB model instead of $799. The older iPhone 16 model is now $799, while the "budget" iPhone 17e now sells for $699. Even the iPhone Air has gone up to $1099. What do you think so far? Apple Watch pricing stays the sameSurprisingly, the RAM and storage costs haven’t hit the Apple Watch yet, or, at least, Apple is willing to absorb those increases for these smaller devices. The Series 12 Apple Watch with a new S11 processor and on-device Apple Intelligence features starts at the same $399 price as the Apple Watch 11. The new Apple Watch Ultra 4 also remains at the same $799 introductory price as the Ultra 3.AirPods are now cheaper (and better) than everOne popular product escaped the price bump: I was surprised to see a new standard AirPods model at the iPhone 18 Pro keynote, but the price drop was even more unexpected. The base AirPods 5 now come with built-in ANC (which used to cost extra), along with better transparency and improved sound features, and they are just $129, the cost of the outgoing AirPods 4 without ANC. Apple does have a more expensive model of AirPods 5 that comes with a wireless charging case, better battery life, and an on-stem voice control feature for $149, or $30 cheaper than the outgoing AirPods 4 with ANC model. Lifehacker has been a go-to source of tech help and life advice since 2005. Our mission is to offer reliable tech help and credible, practical, science-based life advice to help you live better. Our Mission Our Team Newsletter © 2001-2026 Ziff Davis, LLC., A ZIFF DAVIS COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Lifehacker is a federally registered trademark of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of Lifehacker. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant.