Apple is once again stealing the spotlight – not because of innovation, but because of rumors of a price increase for the new generation of iPhones expected to be launched this fall!
However, Apple reportedly refused to link any price increases to trade tensions between the United States and China, especially the import tariffs imposed by President Trump's administration, which are now up to 30%.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, even though most of the iPhones are still manufactured in China, Apple is trying to avoid being seen as 'caught up' in this tariff war.
Apple's official reason?
"Ultra-thin design innovation and new features."
In reality, Apple itself admitted that the tariffs are expected to add $900 million to operating costs in the second quarter of this year alone.
Based on estimates from the firm Rosenblatt Securities, the base price of the iPhone 16 is expected to face a sharp increase of up to 43%.
Apple is said to be cooling down consumer perceptions of the increase by introducing a new design and premium functions as the main attractions.
But at the same time, competitors like Samsung are increasingly aggressively offering more sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI)-based features, putting pressure on Apple in the race for the consumer technology market.
With prices getting crazier and competitors getting smarter, could this iconic brand have lost its touch?
