Apple Holds Watch Prices Flat While Raising iPhone Prices
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) left the price of its new smartwatches unchanged while raising the price of its new flagship iPhones by $100, dividing its response to rising component costs across the product line.
The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, matching the Series 11. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799, matching the Ultra 3. The AirPods 5 start at $129, with the wireless charging case version at $149.
The iPhone 18 Pro was priced at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299, each $100 above the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro models. The foldable iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 and reaches $3,199 at 2TB.
The split follows price increases Apple applied to Macs and iPads over the summer, which the company and analysts have linked to sharply higher memory and storage costs across the industry.
Bank of America cut its Apple price target to $370 from $380 while maintaining a Buy rating, citing margin pressure from higher memory and component costs. The firm did not distinguish between product lines in its note.
Memory content differs substantially between the categories. A smartwatch carries a fraction of the DRAM and NAND of a Pro iPhone, which limits the exposure of the watch line to the same cost pressure and gives Apple room to hold pricing where the upgrade case rests on sensing rather than price.
Apple did not address the pricing divergence at its 9 September event.
