iPhone inflation is real: iPhone 18 Pro is more expensive, how much is this increase?

It's official. The iPhone 18 Pro is here and it is more expensive. Apple CEO John Ternus launched the latest Pro iPhones during the Surprise and Shine event at Apple Park. But alongside a bunch of upgrades, we also saw new prices. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at Rs 1,64,900 in India, up from Rs 1,34,900 for the iPhone 17 Pro. The first ever Apple foldable – the iPhone Duo – also takes things to another level, starting at a whopping Rs 2,99,900 in India.

The price hike itself is not really a surprise. The smartphone industry is facing a memory crisis at the moment, which is increasing costs – often called RAMageddon or RAMpocalypse. Previously, former Apple CEO (now executive chairman) Tim Cook admitted that it was “inevitable” for Apple to raise prices. And that has finally happened.

The Rs 30,000 bump in prices for the iPhone 18 Pro roughly translates to a 20 per cent hike compared to last year. It is a similar story for the iPhone 18 Pro Max which is priced at Rs 1,79,900. The iPhone 17 Pro Max carried a starting price tag of Rs 1,49,900.

“Given the ongoing RAMageddon, Apple has chosen not to fully absorb component inflation on the Pro tier this year,” says Prabhu Ram, VP at CyberMedia Research (CMR). “The 20–22 per cent Pro price increase is materially steeper than in recent generations, representing a partial pass-through of higher memory and process-node costs.”

Though, Prabhu Ram suggests that Apple may have brought enough upgrades to justify this hike, including the new A20 Pro chipset. “The economics of the 2nm A20 Pro give Apple greater pricing headroom on the higher-ASP (average selling price) Pro tier, allowing it to recover a larger share of these rising costs without materially weakening demand in the segment that matters most,” he adds.Indians paying a higher price?

Another talking point of the launch has been the difference in India prices compared to other markets. For instance, while the iPhone 18 Pro received a Rs 30,000 hike in India, it only increased by $100 (roughly Rs 9,500) in the US.

At the same time, Apple has raised prices of older iPhones including the iPhone 16, which is now listed at Rs 89,900 – higher than the launch price of the iPhone 17. The iPhone 17, on the other hand, also got costlier by Rs 17,000.

Independent tech analyst Yogesh Brar says that in some cases, iPhone prices in India have risen by as high as 41 per cent. On the other hand, the increase in the US has largely been between 10 to 21 per cent. “iPhone inflation is real globally, but Indian consumers are getting a particularly raw deal. There are legitimate reasons behind some of this inflation (in India). Memory and storage costs have increased sharply, the rupee has weakened, and India has an 18% GST alongside duties and other costs,” he tells India Today Tech. “But these factors don't fully change the consumer perception. Indians are seeing substantially steeper increases than Americans for essentially the same hardware.”Curious case of iPhone Duo

The bigger impact of this disparity in prices, however, is felt with the iPhone Duo, a device that starts at Rs 2,99,900 and goes all the way to Rs 4,49,900 depending on the storage you pick. On the other hand, you can buy the iPhone Duo in the US for as low as $1,999, or roughly Rs 1,90,000.

Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint, says that a reason behind this disparity in prices is that we may not see the iPhone Duo being made in India. “India pricing (of the iPhone Duo) is steep and the difference is primarily due to the fact that initial Duo sales will not be 'Made in India' for some time,” he tells India Today Tech. “Consequently, imported units attract full import duty-making them significantly more expensive-along with GST and the impact of a weaker rupee so in all at 40 per cent + net impact (17 per cent import duty +18 per cent GST +5-6 percent forex).”

Now the US is far and the difference in price may not impact you unless you manage to get an iPhone Duo from a relative somewhere there. But even in closer regions such as Thailand and the UAE, the iPhone Duo is much cheaper. So much cheaper that you can actually travel to Bangkok, buy the iPhone Duo, spend two days, and still save money.

According to Kailash Lakhyani, founder chairman of All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), there is a risk of a grey market emerging due to this difference in prices. “This massive gap is fueling the grey market for global warranty devices in India. Apple must address this and narrow the price gap. Otherwise, Apple India will lose business, and the Government of India will lose exchequer revenue,” he tells India Today Tech.What happens to iPhone demand?

When prices increase, economics tells us that demand is likely to fall, at least by some measure. But is that going to be the case for the iPhone?

Tarun Pathak suggests that the increased prices will help compensate for a potential decline in sales when it comes to revenue, particularly when there is no vanilla iPhone 18 just yet. “We expect Apple to keep leading in revenue terms while volume is likely to take a hit , especially with a difficult comparison from last festive season and absence of base iPhone 18,” he explains. According to Pathak, sales of the Pro iPhones grew 32 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026.

Yogesh Brar believes that for someone who can afford to buy a Pro iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro prices are unlikely to make much of a difference. “The Rs 1.5 lakh-plus customer is relatively price-insensitive, and Apple's installed base remains a major advantage,” he says.

Brar believes that when it comes to sales, the vanilla iPhone 17 may be the worst hit. “When a regular iPhone 17 costs effectively 1 lakh, buyers have more reasons to delay upgrades, buy discounted older or refurbished iPhones, or consider premium Android alternatives,” Yogesh Brar notes. “The real risk for Apple isn't that Indians stop buying iPhones. It's that the iPhone becomes less of an attainable premium product and increasingly a luxury purchase.”

However, when it comes to older iPhones, this hike may be balanced by offers during the festive season. “A large part of iPhone sales are driven by base models which have now become expensive starting from 16, 17. A lot will also depend on the upcoming festive season where we think older iPhones even including iPhone 15 will still be selling,” Tarun Pathak notes.

Prabhu Ram concurs. He suggests that the vanilla iPhone 17 – which is reportedly the best-selling phone in India this year – will likely do the heavy lifting this festive season, while the base iPhone 18 can help increase Apple’s sales when it likely launches early next year. “With the base iPhone 17 anchoring the super-premium segment, shifting the base iPhone 18 launch to the March quarter could strategically broaden revenue capture across the festive period and the typically softer Q1,” he adds.

Though the hype around iPhones may not take too big of a hit despite the higher prices. “India's premiumisation trend, coupled with a strong aspirational consumer base, provides Apple with a meaningful demand tailwind,” Prabhu Ram explains.

In India, a lot of people buy phones on EMI. This means, in effect, the higher prices may only translate to a marginal increase in monthly payments that may help soften the blow. But for those who may not be able to stretch their budgets though, the refurbished market may be an option. Tarun Pathak explains, “We expect refurbished iPhones to grow more than expected with new pricing as trade-ins will be more than expected.”

Kailash Lakhyani notes, ”Die-hard and inspirational iPhone consumers will continue to buy the latest models, but consumers who cannot afford them or prefer not to spend that much will shift to refurbished devices, second-hand phones, or simply service their old phones to delay a new purchase.”

As per Cashify, iPhones accounted for 65 per cent of all refurbished smartphone sales in India, with the iPhone 13 leading the segment.

The iPhone 18 Pro series will be available for pre-orders from September 12. You can buy it from store shelves starting September 18. Despite the new prices, it is likely that we will see long queues outside Apple Stores in India, just like last year.- EndsPublished By: Armaan AgarwalPublished On: Sep 11, 2026 08:08 ISTAlso Read | iPhone Duo India price so high, you can fly to Bangkok, buy Duo, enjoy 2 nights, still save moneyAlso Read | If you want to buy iPhone, best time to buy it was yesterday, next best is todayAlso Read | Inside Apple's latest iPhone launch: iPhone Duo stole the show, but India has a price question