Why iPhone 17 is no longer expensive (despite tariffs) and where Apple is going

On the eve of the launch of the new iPhone 17 (find everything you need to know here), many wondered what the impact of Trump's tariffs would be. The tariffs imposed on Chinese (but also Indian) goods posed heavy doubts. Instead, iPhone 17 has a launch price, in Italy, of EUR 979. Which is the same as iPhone 16 a year ago. Indeed, to be nitpicky (though it's not really a detail), last year's base model started with 128gb of storage, while this year's is 256gb. Practically twice as much.

No price increases, then. But how did Apple bypass the tariffs?

The Californian giant has apparently decided to absorb the tariff impact without passing it on to consumers. The explanation is twofold: on the one hand, the high margins on iPhones, and on the other, the strategy of diversifying production with an increasing share of devices assembled in India and Latin America, which has reduced dependence on China and limited logistics costs. But there is also a competitive aspect: presenting the new models with prices in line with those of the previous generation actually helps Apple to keep up with the top players such as Samsung and Google, which on the Android front have pushed hard on foldable devices. And it is also a way to strengthen consumer loyalty at a time when the alternatives are growing in quality and commercial aggressiveness.

Investor reaction, however, was not without its doubts: Apple's share lost ground in the stock market both immediately after the iPhone launch and in the after hours. A clear - though not heavy - signal of how Wall Street fears an erosion of margins should the pricing policy become structural.

In all this, the launch event also had an important technological significance: Apple, after years of caution, took a first step outside its now traditional comfort zone. And it did so by launching the first iPhone Air, which at 5.6 millimetres thick is the thinnest smartphone ever made by Apple.