Why are iPhones more expensive than iPads?

At first glance, you might expect an iPad to cost more than an iPhone due to the size difference. This is the case with other devices like TVs, laptops and smart watches: a larger model comes at a higher price. However, at the time of writing, the cheapest iPhone (iPhone 17th) costs $599, which is slightly more than the most affordable iPad (11th generation) at $449.

The reason is a combination of design, material, demand and market segments. An iPad isn’t just a larger iPhone, in the same way a 65-inch TV compares to its 55-inch counterpart. And depending on which ones you’re considering, an iPad may actually cost more than any iPhone.

The relatively small size of an iPhone presents design challenges; all the essential components must fit into a tiny space. It takes a lot of engineering work to design a motherboard, battery, SoC, radios, sensors, speakers, and everything else that can fit inside an iPhone without being bulky. Everything has to be carefully organized to prevent components from interfering with each other and building up heat – not to mention the battery’s ability to power everything.

In comparison, an iPad gives engineers much more workspace, which reduces costs. Designers don’t need to be as strict about how they arrange components, and heat dissipation is simpler with more internal space. That doesn’t mean the iPad is free internally, but it also doesn’t require as much research as the iPhone (especially with the ultra-thin models, which have their own tradeoffs, as our iPhone Air review noted).

Besides size, the biggest difference between the iPhone and iPad is the built-in technology. Each iPhone contains many elements that most iPad models lack, such as all the radios and antennas needed for phone calls. Although you can make calls on your iPad using Wi-Fi calling or routing through your iPhone, even cellular iPad models work with data only; they can’t make traditional phone calls.

The iPhone’s cameras are far superior to the iPad’s offerings; the iPhone 17’s camera is much better than that of an iPad Pro. The iPhone 17’s rear cameras are both 48 MP, compared to 12 MP on the iPad Pro M5. iPad cameras lack optical zoom, perform worse in the dark, and lack features like cinematic video mode. An iPad camera can be serviced in a pinch or for scanning documents, but it’s not intended for everyday photo taking.

Every model in the iPhone 17 series has an OLED display, which is more expensive than the LCD displays on all iPad models outside of the Pro line. Every iPhone 17 model also offers a ProMotion display that goes up to 120Hz, while all iPads except the Pro line have 60Hz displays. Lower-end iPads also typically come with older chips. The 11th generation iPad, released in 2025, uses the A16 chip first seen in 2022’s iPhone 14 Pro. Not to mention iPads lacking MagSafe charging, NFC, and an IP water resistance rating.

Even though the iPhone and iPad use a similar operating system and many of the same apps, they don’t compete in the same space. Smartphones are essentially a necessity for most people today, given the many roles they play: calling and messaging, music player, GPS, entertainment, camera and much more.

An iPad isn’t as vital. For many people, a tablet is a secondary device for streaming, reading, and perhaps taking notes. They may be great for students and those working in creative fields, but they don’t seem necessary in the way phones do. You can opt for a “phablet” sized phone, a Chromebook, or even a laptop like the surprisingly sturdy MacBook Neo for the same purposes.

Therefore, Apple has good reasons to offer an iPad at a low price. Fewer people would buy a tablet if the starting price was prohibitive, meaning the company would miss out on new entrants to the Apple ecosystem by spending on services like iCloud and Apple Music. The iPad also competes with Chromebooks in the education market, where Apple wants schools to buy its devices and put them in the hands of families.

The iPhone represents Apple’s highest revenue stream by far, which means it makes sense that the company would spend the most time and money improving it. Apple has always positioned the iPhone as a premium phone and knows what people are willing to pay for it. Selling an ultra-cheap iPhone would devalue the framework that Apple has built over decades; even the “affordable” iPhone 17e costs hundreds of times more than budget Android phones.

There is also the question of how people purchase these devices. The majority of U.S. buyers buy an iPhone through wireless carriers, which offer “free” phones through monthly bill credits in exchange for sticking with an expensive plan for several years. This obscures the true price. People also tend to upgrade their tablets less often than their phones.

We’ve been comparing the iPhone to the base model iPad for most of this discussion, but looking at other iPad models shows that the iPhone isn’t always more expensive. The base iPad starts at $449 for the 128GB model and goes up to $749 for 512GB of storage; you’ll pay an extra $150 for a model with cellular connectivity. That means a 256GB iPad with cellular costs $700, which is already $100 more than the iPhone 17e for a device with a worse screen and an inferior camera that can’t make calls without Wi-Fi.

Other iPad models are even more expensive, as they offer better specs that start to surpass the iPhone’s power. The iPad Air M4 starts at $749 for 128GB, while the iPad mini (more affected by the size considerations mentioned earlier) starts at $600 for 128GB. Meanwhile, the iPad Pro can far exceed the cost of any iPhone thanks to its Apple silicon chip and high-end OLED display. A maxed out 2TB iPhone 17 Pro Max costs $2,000, while the 13-inch iPad Pro M5 with 2TB of storage costs $2,600 – and that’s before optional nano-textured glass for an extra $100 and cellular connectivity for an extra $200. These models compete with laptops and desktops for professional work, rather than more casual phone use.

Before Apple’s June 2026 price hikes, the situation wasn’t as bad. Base prices for the iPad and iPad mini each jumped $100, while those for the iPad Air and iPad Pro increased by $150 to $200 each. These increases haven’t hit the iPhone yet, although that could change soon.