It’s the year of smartphone price hikes

Apple raised starting prices for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max by $100, and also increased prices on older iPhone models. Google and Samsung made similar moves this year, with new Pixel and Galaxy foldable models also debuting at higher prices.

The coordinated-looking wave of price hikes suggests premium smartphone makers are testing how much consumers will tolerate as hardware upgrades become more incremental. If buyers keep paying, higher baseline prices could become the new normal across flagship phones rather than a temporary inflation-driven bump.