Will the i Phone 17's price drop when the i Phone 18 launches? The answer is more complicated than usual this year | Tech Radar
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Will the i Phone 17's price drop when the i Phone 18 launches? The answer is more complicated than usual this year
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Generally, the launch of a new i Phone means a drop in price for the old one, but this isn’t a typical year for i Phones — not only is Apple expected to finally launch its long-rumored foldable phone, but thanks to out-of-control memory prices, it’s costing more for companies to build handsets.
On top of that, we’re actually not expecting to see a base i Phone 18 model this year, with that device reportedly landing in March or April instead. So at Apple’s September 9 launch you might only be able to choose from an i Phone 18 Pro, i Phone 18 Pro Max, or i Phone 18 Ultra.
Typically, it’s only the standard model that gets a price drop — so when the i Phone 18 finally does launch (likely next year), the i Phone 17 may well drop in price. But I’d guess the launch of the Pro series this month probably won’t trigger a price drop, since the i Phone 17 will probably remain the latest standard model for a while longer.
In fact, the rising price of memory could mean Apple won’t drop the price of the i Phone 17 even when the i Phone 18 does finally launch. Instead, it might decide to sell the i Phone 18 at a new, higher price and keep the i Phone 17 at its current one.
But I doubt that. If the i Phone 18 doesn’t land until early 2027, then the i Phone 17 will be well over a year old by that point and definitely due a price drop — though, at that point, Apple might instead choose to discontinue it altogether, especially as the cheaper i Phone 18e might land then too.
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Regardless, this could be a rare year where there are no price drops, as my prediction is that, as usual, Apple will discontinue the i Phone 17 Pro and i Phone 17 Pro Max when the i Phone 18 Pro series lands, rather than dropping their prices.
As noted above, the i Phone 17 may get a price reduction when the i Phone 18 lands, but that feels up in the air at the moment, and probably won’t happen this year. If it does happen, Apple typically knocks
Apple will probably discontinue the i Phone 17 Pro (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)
So your options after the September 9 launch are likely to be either one of the new models at a (probably) higher price than existing i Phones, or an i Phone 17, i Phone 17e, or i Phone Air at their current prices.
It’s not impossible that Apple will drop some of these prices, or even keep the i Phone 17 Pro series around, but I doubt it.
If you’re desperate for a cheaper phone, though, you might not be totally out of luck, as while I’m not expecting Apple to drop any prices this year, third-party sellers might drop the prices of discontinued models to make way for the new ones.
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So in other words, if Apple discontinues the i Phone 17 Pro and i Phone 17 Pro Max — like it usually does when new Pro models land — the likes of Amazon and Best Buy might drop the sticker price on them until they sell out.
Pre-owned handsets are also likely to fall in price, so if you don’t mind buying a used phone, you may be able to find a real bargain.
As such, if you’re in the market for an i Phone upgrade but don’t want any of the upcoming models, I’d still recommend waiting until they’re announced before buying anything, even though there probably won’t be any official price drops this year. Just don’t wait too long after September 9 to buy, or stores might run out of new units.
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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at Tech Radar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
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