Picture:
Alamy
Apple has released the first £2,000 iPhone, making it the most expensive to ever go to market.
Loading audio…
Apple has released the first £2,000 iPhone, making it the most expensive to ever go to market.
As the tech giant continues to be battered by Donald Trump’s tariff bombardment, their chief executive Tim Cook announced it was escalating the price of its most famous product.
The new iPhone 17 Pro Max handset, priced at £1,999, features a series of upgrades advanced processors and redesigned cameras.
A regular version of the new model, which will start at £799, was also unveiled at Tuesday’s launch, along with a thinner and lighter iPhone Air.
The £1,999 Pro Max version includes 2TB of storage.
Picture:
Getty
The phone-making juggernaut will keep its standard model price the same as last year’s iPhone 16 device, but is pushing consumers towards more expensive models by removing a cheaper version of its Pro handset.
It means their popular premium device will start at £1,099, compared to £999 last year.
Read more: Apple launches AirPods that can help live translate languages
Read more: Apple pledges to reduce burden of ‘silent killer’ with new watch
The price changes shows the effects of Mr Trump’s trade war on Apple, which has been repeatedly threatened with tariffs and switched much of its manufacturing to India to avoid a crackdown on China.
Both Mr Trump and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick have repeatedly insisted that iPhones be made in the US instead of overseas.
Analysts say this demand is unrealistic, warning it would take years to achieve and could result in the IPhone’s current average price of about $1,000 doubling or even tripling.
Mr Cook initially tried to placate Mr Trump by pledging Apple would invest $500 billion (£370 billion) in the US over the next four years, before upping the ante last month by adding another $100 billion(£74 billion) to the commitment. He also gifted Mr Trump a statue featuring a 24-karat gold base.
Picture:
Getty
This kind of diplomacy has helped insulate Apple from Mr Trump’s most severe tariffs.
However, with imported iPhones still facing duties of about 25%, some analysts speculated the company would raise prices to help preserve its hefty profit margins.
For the most part, Apple is sticking with the same price tags it has slapped on its newest iPhones over recent years.
Although Apple’s stock price is still down by 4% so far this year, the shares have been bouncing back in recent months amid signs it would not be as hard hit by the tariffs as once feared.
A highly anticipated court ruling cleared the way for the company to continue receiving £15 billion annually to lock in Google’s search engine as the default option on iPhones.