I’ve made no secret of the fact that I want to buy the iPhone 17 Air as soon as it comes out, compromises be damned. I’m a longtime iPhone user, and I want two things from my next iPhone purchase: A large screen and a thin profile.
Put an iPhone Plus or Pro Max screen on a device as thin as the iPhone 6 (or thinner), and I’ll be happy. I say that as someone who bought and returned the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max (in this order). I loved the large displays but didn’t appreciate the bulkiness. The iPhone 17 Air should fix that, even if it means I’ll get a single-lens camera on the back, a non-Pro A18 chip, and a few other compromises.
The iPhone 17 Air price, rumored to match the iPhone Plus’s starting price of around $899, is also a good reason to pick this particular iPhone 17 flavor. The phone can’t be more expensive than the Pro models, but it also can’t be cheaper than the base iPhone 17 variant.
That was my thinking before the last couple of weeks, when the trade war between the US and China escalated to previously unseen levels. In an incredible twist late last week, the iPhone and other consumer electronics were exempt from Trump’s 145% tariff on imports from China. But the good news was short-lived.
By Sunday, the administration made it clear that the exemption was temporary. iPhone imports from China might still face stiffer tariffs, which would impact my decision to buy an iPhone 17 Air.
After tanking the stock market with news of escalating tariffs last week, Trump issued a 90-day pause on the higher tariffs for most countries but China late last week. On Friday, Trump excluded smartphones, computers, and other electronics imported from China from the 145% tariffs. A 20% tariff remains in place, the so-called Fentanyl tariff.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday told ABC News that the exemptions on products like the iPhone, laptops, and other products will not last longer than a month or two. These will be combined with semiconductor tariffs, which might be announced over the current week.
President Trump confirmed on social media, insisting there was no exemption on products like the iPhone, citing the 20% Fentanyl tariffs that still apply.
Meanwhile, reports last week claimed that Apple had rushed to import 600 tons of iPhones from India before tariffs kicked in. Separately, other reports said that Apple and other companies temporarily stopped production lines in China for products that would be exported to the US.
We have about five months until the iPhone 17 series is unveiled. Preorders will start in mid-September, and the four models will go on sale 10 days later. By late September, we’ll know exactly how Trump’s tariffs will impact the price of the iPhone 17.
What’s absolutely clear is that Apple will not be making iPhones in the US anytime soon, no matter how the administration thinks that sort of thing is possible. Also, it’s very likely that Apple will pass on the import duties to US buyers, or at least some of them. The four iPhone 17 models, including the iPhone 17 Air, might cost more than their predecessors.
Again, rumors say the iPhone 17 Air will cost about as much as the iPhone 16 Plus it replaces. That $899 starting price can’t happen unless Trump exempts Apple products or the US and China come to some sort of understanding that will see these annoying tariffs rolled back sigificantly.
Back to my iPhone 17 Air buying intentions, I’ll remind you I buy iPhones in Europe, which means they’re already slightly more expensive than in the US. It also means that Trump’s tariffs do not apply to iPhones imported into Europe from China. Not to mention that China and the EU might be negotiating more mutually beneficial trade deals in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcements.
That might mean the iPhone 17 Air price won’t see any significant price hikes for European buyers like me.
However, let’s also not forget that Trump’s tariffs impacted the world’s economy. Most products will be subject to tariffs, which will lead to more inflation. Due to the tariffs, Apple might incur other operational costs in the coming months. It might pass those costs on to consumers worldwide, not just US buyers.
Also, if Apple increases iPhone prices in the US, it might increase them in all the markets where the iPhone is sold, even those not affected by tariffs.
Then there’s the exchange rate, which is seeing fluctuations right now, with the Euro strengthening against the dollar. That might be good news for Europeans, as Apple would increase prices in the EU only if the opposite were true; the dollar was suddenly stronger.
It happened in 2022 when the iPhone 14 series launched, and Apple hiked prices in Europe because the dollar was stronger than the Euro. Apple dropped prices in the region a year later as the Euro strengthened. But that was before the tariff-related economic uncertainties.
Just look at what Sony did this week with the PS5 Digital Edition. The console is 10% to 15% more expensive in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Sony blamed this on the “challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates.” This challenging economic environment started when Trump announced the new tariffs earlier this month.
With all that in mind, I’ll temper my enthusiasm for the iPhone 17 Air. If prices go up in Europe as a result of Trump’s tariffs, I won’t be in a hurry to buy the iPhone 17 Air on release date, no matter how much I want it. I’ll wait for better deals from local retailers and carriers before I upgrade. I’ll be targeting the equivalent of that $899 starting price tag I was willing to spend on the iPhone 17 Air before this new tariff nonsense kicked in.
