US President Donald Trump said he spoke with Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook earlier on Monday, just as the iPhone maker was reported to be considering price increases later this year.
Apple is weighing whether to raise prices for an iPhone lineup coming in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter whom it didn’t identify. The company is exploring whether to “couple” price increases with new features and designs, while trying to avoid the perception that any hikes are tied to US tariffs, the Journal reported. Apple didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
A few hours after the Journal report, Trump said he had spoken to Cook. He didn’t address the potential price increases, instead focusing on how he thinks the company will end up raising its US spending plan beyond the $500 billion that it had pledged in February. “He’s going to be building a lot of plants in the US for Apple,” Trump said.
Consumers and analysts have been bracing for Apple price increases for more than a month. Bloomberg News reported in April that the company stocked up on inventory to prepare for the tariffs and that price increases were growing more likely.
Read More: Apple Price Hikes Are Now Looking Possible in the US
Shares of Apple were up as much as 6.4% in New York on Monday at $211.27 as the US and China appeared set to temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products in a dramatic ratcheting down of trade tensions, spurring a broader rally across markets.
Apple hasn’t changed the starting price of its flagship iPhone model since it debuted the iPhone X in 2017 — keeping it at $999. But the company was widely expected to weigh hikes after Trump announced sweeping tariffs against several nations that Apple relies on for manufacturing. In February, the company went with a higher price for the iPhone 16e, which replaced the budget iPhone SE in its lineup, signaling its willingness to raise costs when needed.
Cook said during a recent earnings call that Apple could incur costs of about $900 million this quarter due to tariffs. He was asked about potential price increases during the same call but promptly shut down the question, saying: “We have nothing to announce today.”
Read More: US, China to Slash Tariffs in Step Back from Decoupling Brink
Cook had successfully lobbied Trump during his first administration to exempt some of the company’s products from tariffs.
High-end phones, including the Pro and Pro Max models, will be produced in China, even as Apple builds up capacity in Indian factories, the newspaper reported. Apple is seeking to import most of the iPhones it sells in the US from India by the end of next year, accelerating a shift beyond China to mitigate risks related to tariffs and geopolitical tensions, Bloomberg News has reported.
