News in Short
- Apple has increased the prices of several existing iPhone models in India after its September 9 event.
- The iPhone 16 128GB now costs Rs. 89,900, up Rs. 20,000.
- The iPhone 17 256GB now costs Rs. 99,900, up Rs. 17,000.
- The iPhone 17e has also become Rs. 15,000 costlier at Rs. 79,900.
- The iPhone Air has seen an increase of up to Rs. 30,000 on some configurations.
- Rising memory and storage component costs are believed to be a major reason behind Apple’s global price increases.
- Apple did not launch a standard iPhone 18 at the event, leaving the iPhone 17 as its mainstream current-generation model.
Apple’s September event usually brings an easy-to-understand change for buyers. A new iPhone arrives, and older models become cheaper.
This year, however, Apple flipped that formula.
Instead of cutting prices on older iPhones after launching the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo, Apple has increased the prices of several models still on sale in India.
The biggest shock is the iPhone 16.
The 128GB model, which was available for Rs. 69,900 before the event, now costs Rs. 89,900. That is a Rs. 20,000 increase.
The iPhone 17 has also moved much closer to the Rs. 1 lakh mark. Its 256GB version has gone from Rs. 82,900 to Rs. 99,900, making it Rs. 17,000 more expensive.
Apple’s own India store now lists the iPhone 16 at Rs. 89,900 and the iPhone 17 at Rs. 99,900.
New iPhone prices in India
| Model | Earlier price | New price | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16 128GB | Rs. 69,900 | Rs. 89,900 | Rs. 20,000 |
| iPhone 17e 256GB | Rs. 64,900 | Rs. 79,900 | Rs. 15,000 |
| iPhone 17 256GB | Rs. 82,900 | Rs. 99,900 | Rs. 17,000 |
| iPhone Air 256GB | Rs. 1,19,900 | Rs. 1,49,900 | Rs. 30,000 |
Apple’s India store currently lists the iPhone Air from Rs. 1,49,900, iPhone 17 from Rs. 99,900, iPhone 17e from Rs. 79,900 and iPhone 16 from Rs. 89,900.
So, why did Apple increase the prices?
The biggest factor appears to be rising memory and storage costs.
The global smartphone industry is facing pressure from the growing demand for memory components used in AI infrastructure. AI data centres require huge quantities of high-performance memory, putting pressure on the wider memory supply chain.
Reuters reports that Apple’s global price adjustments are linked to soaring memory and storage chip costs, with AI-related demand contributing to the supply pressure.
This is increasingly being described as “chipflation”.
In simple terms, the cost of important components has gone up, and Apple appears to be passing part of that increase on to consumers rather than absorbing the entire impact.
That explains why the price change isn’t limited to one particular iPhone model.
Why is the increase so noticeable in India?
India is seeing some of Apple’s steepest price increases.
Reuters reports that Apple’s 2026 price adjustments have been particularly sharp in India, with some models seeing increases of more than 40%. The report also points to local factors such as import duties and India’s 18% GST as additional contributors to the final retail price.
However, it would be misleading to say that taxes alone caused the Rs. 20,000 increase on the iPhone 16.
The more useful way to look at it is that higher global component costs are meeting India’s existing tax and import-cost structure, resulting in a much higher price at the retail level.
There is another interesting reason: no standard iPhone 18
Apple’s September event introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, along with its first foldable, the iPhone Duo.
But there was no standard iPhone 18.
That matters because the iPhone 17 remains the mainstream current-generation iPhone in Apple’s lineup rather than immediately becoming the previous-generation model.
The iPhone 17 is therefore still positioned as the regular iPhone for buyers who don’t want to spend Pro-level money.
With its price now at Rs. 99,900, however, that positioning has become considerably more expensive.
The iPhone 17 is now almost a Rs. 1 lakh phone
This could be the biggest consumer impact of Apple’s decision.
The iPhone 17 was launched in India at Rs. 82,900. It now costs Rs. 99,900 for the 256GB model.
That means the gap between Apple’s mainstream iPhone and its Pro models is changing. Buyers who previously considered the iPhone 17 a relatively accessible entry point into the latest generation now have to spend almost Rs. 1 lakh.
And the iPhone 16, which many buyers would normally consider the value option after a new launch, is now Rs. 89,900.
That makes the traditional Apple upgrade cycle look very different this year.
Should you buy an iPhone now?
The price increase makes the decision more complicated.
If you were waiting for the iPhone 16 to become cheaper after the latest Apple event, the opposite has happened. The official Apple price is now Rs. 89,900.
The iPhone 17 at Rs. 99,900 is also harder to recommend purely on value compared with the prices it carried before September 9.
For buyers looking at an iPhone, retailer discounts, bank offers and exchange deals could become much more important. Apple’s official price is only one part of the street price, particularly during India’s festive shopping season.
The bigger takeaway is clear: Apple’s latest event didn’t just introduce new iPhones. It also changed the economics of buying the older ones in India.
And this time, waiting for the previous-generation iPhone to get cheaper may not have been the winning strategy.
