iPhone 17 prices just tipped for all four models — and it's bad news for iPhone 17 Air

The iPhone 17 price leaks have been ramping up as we get closer to the big Apple event on September 9. Just this week, we heard that the only model getting a price hike is the iPhone 17 Pro, which has been tipped to go up $100 alongside an increase to 256GB of storage.

But now a new analyst report from TrendForce (via MacRumors) has revealed bad news about the possible iPhone 17 Air pricing. This is the rumored super-thin phone set to replace the iPhone 16 Plus, which starts at $899. How does $200 more sound to you?

iPhone Air to start at $1,099?

TrendForce predicts that Apple will charge $1,099 for the iPhone 17 Air, which is expected to be just 5.5mm thin and sport a 6.6-inch OLED display. It's also expected to pack Apple's new A19 chip and start with 256GB of storage.

Not only would this be a huge jump up from the previous Plus line, it would also mean a $300 price gap between the regular iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Air. This could be a tough sell because while the iPhone 17 Air should have a larger display and sleeker design, it will likely feature just a single rear camera, compared to two for the regular iPhone 17.

iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max prices

Meanwhile, TrendForce tipped the iPhone 17 Pro to start at a whopping $1,199, which would be a $200 price hike versus the iPhone 16 Pro.

I could see the iPhone 17 Pro going up by $100, given the possible 256GB of storage, as that's worth $100 alone. But the extra $100 on top of that might be tough to swallow if Apple doesn't offer a big leap in performance, camera quality and battery life.

So far we've heard that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will get a sharper 48MP telephoto camera along with a faster A17 Pro chip. And you should enjoy better sustained performance — without overheating — due to a new vapor chamber cooling system.

The iPhone 17 Pro series is also rumored to offer a brighter display and the longest battery life to date, thanks in part to larger capacity batteries. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is tipped to finally get a battery over 5,000 mAh.

This report says that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will start at $1,299, which would be $100 more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

iPhone 17 prices: Outlook

The TrendForce iPhone 17 report makes some sense in terms of the spread of prices. You obviously couldn't have the iPhone 17 Air cost more than a more powerful iPhone 17 Pro.

But if this prediction is accurate, the iPhone 17 Air will have to blow people away during the launch event and in person to justify such a high $1,099 price. Granted, Apple is dealing with the tariff impact just like most electronics manufacturers. Just look at the recent PS5 price hike.

But if Apple is indeed raising the prices on 3 out of 4 iPhone 17 models, that risks becoming the lead story instead of what the new phones actually offer. For more, check out our iPhone 17 event live blog for up-to-the-minute leaks and rumors.

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