Apple plans to hold a special media event on September 9, during which the company is expected to introduce a completely new iPhone lineup. While new iPhone unveils are always interesting, this year will be especially exciting in light of rumors that Apple is finally introducing a foldable iPhone that could be dubbed iPhone Ultra. At the same time, Apple will also present an iPhone 18 Pro. It is reasonable to assume that both devices will be very expensive. The foldable iPhone will be expensive because it represents a whole new product category for Apple. And the iPhone 18 Pro could be more expensive than the iPhone 17 Pro due to rising memory costs.
For reference, the iPhone 17 Pro debuted with a sticker price of $1,099. Meanwhile, the iPhone Ultra could cost up to $2,399. Of course, the actual cost is never sure until Apple officially announces it. Still, the four-digit prices of Apple’s premium iPhones raise an interesting question: How has the price of an iPhone changed over the past 19 years?
The original iPhone caused a sensation when it launched in 2007. There was nothing else like it on the market, and the device proved revolutionary in many ways. It’s fair to say that the original iPhone not only changed the way we use mobile devices, but also created the model that still defines smartphones today. Let’s take a look at how this model has evolved over time.
2007-2020: the original iPhone and carrier subsidies
When first introduced, the original iPhone was priced at $499. That may seem surprisingly cheap given the current price of iPhones, but keep in mind that $499 in 2007 is about $800 in today’s dollars. For comparison, Apple’s entry-level iPhone 17 costs around $799.
After the iPhone’s initial release, Apple and AT&T (which was the iPhone’s exclusive carrier at the time) made a concerted effort to make the device more affordable. When Apple launched the iPhone 3G in 2008, the entry-level price dropped to just $199. Accounting for inflation, a $199 iPhone 3G in 2008 is equivalent to $302 in today’s dollars. The caveat to the $199 price is that customers wanting to take advantage of this price had to sign up for an exclusive two-year contract with AT&T. Customers were more than happy to do so, and iPhone sales continued to explode.
Notably, the entry-level price of a carrier-subsidized iPhone remained at $199 for several years. Therefore, in some years a new iPhone was available at a surprisingly low price. For example, a $199 iPhone 6 in 2014 is equivalent to $279 in today’s dollars. Suffice it to say that Apple’s iPhone pricing matrix for the period 2010-2015 offered users excellent value for money.
By the time Apple launched the iPhone 7 in 2016, carrier subsidies had started to disappear and iPhone prices began to rise. With the release of the iPhone 8, the entry-level price of a new iPhone increased to $699. When Apple launched the iPhone 12 in 2020, the entry-level price of a standard iPhone model increased to $799. By the way, $799 in 2020 dollars is $1,025 in today’s dollars.
2020–present: Maintain base iPhone model selling price
To its credit, Apple has kept the entry-level price of $799 unchanged for five years. At the same time, the value proposition for a new iPhone has increased as Apple has added features like larger screens, Face ID and more impressive hardware. For example, the iPhone 17 comes with 256 GB of storage. In contrast, the base iPhone 12 also launched for $799, but only came with 64GB of storage. In 2022, the entry-level storage on the iPhone 14 was 128 GB.
While Apple managed to keep entry-level prices stable, the company started making money when it started offering Pro models. As a point of interest, the iPhone 11 Pro debuted at $999. Apple managed to keep the starting price of its Pro models at $999 for years, until the iPhone 17 Pro debuted at $1,099.
The Android equivalent of an entry-level iPhone is likely Samsung’s Galaxy S series, which debuted in 2010. Interestingly, the unsubsidized price of Samsung’s Galaxy S series over the years has aligned very closely with the price of Apple’s iPhone. For example, an unsubsidized iPhone 5 cost $649 in 2012, while the 2012 Galaxy S III cost $599. The Galaxy S6 in 2015 cost between $650 and $685, while the iPhone 6s sold for $649.
These days, the iPhone and Galaxy S prices closely mirror each other, especially when looking at the pro models. Over the past six years, the price of the iPhone Pro remained stable at $999 until last year’s iPhone 17 Pro. During the same period, Samsung’s Galaxy S+ models remained stable at $1,000. In other words, if you’re in the market for a new smartphone, you won’t find much difference in price between an iPhone or iPhone Pro and an equivalent device from Samsung.
