Apple Reportedly Slashes iPhone 17 Demand Forecast Amid Rising Costs

[Happy_John]

It makes sense to cut production aren't they 2 months from announcing the new one?

I got 2 17's this year, I was going to wait for the 18 but I know they will probbaly reduce some features, and increase the price. The 17 was my first non pro phone since the 11 Pro, and I haven't noticed a difference and the price was 'okay'. These should suit the missus and I for the next few years!

Not this year, allegedly.

Only high-end iPhones this September, and base iPhone to be released in spring 2027 along with e series iPhone.

Again, allegedly. No official confirmation that Apple are doing this.

 

[Glideslope]

I guess their logic is that whoever wanted iPhone 17 got it by now and they are better off saving the components for iPhone 18 Pro and Fold lines.

I agree.

 

[bassanoclapper]

Only the prices are still the same, so why would there be less demand?

The prices are still the same… for now

 

[Slo Pesci]

Just bought an Amazon renewed iPhone Air for $200 off. Only six charge cycles. I wouldn't do this with older models though, since they probably been opened up by refurbishers.

Don't think I'll be buying new anymore. Certified refurbished is still a good option.

 

[lapstags]

I wouldn’t get too hopeful. AAPL stock hit an all time high yesterday. Does this bother you?

Is gweedy Apple somehow forcing people to buy their products?

Don’t quote me

 

[TonyC28]

Apple don't care about customers, they care about making money !

Well, yea. They’re a business so making money is kind of the point.

 

[SalisburySam]

"Apple" can be used as a collective proper noun, so both "don't" and "doesn't" are both grammatically correct. It depends on whether you are referring to Apple as a monolithic entity or as a collection of individuals / teams.

…and your location. In the UK, for example, companies are typically considered plural taking a plural verb. “Apple don’t” is expected and correct. In the US, companies are typically considered singular with a singular verb. No idea why the difference only that it is real.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

Because there isn't an infinite amount of potential buyers who want an iPhone 17 but who have not yet bought an iPhone 17.

Prices obviously will increase, but a reduction in demand may not be exclusively caused by price increases. Approaching market saturation will slow demand.

That’s neither what the article nor the person I replied to claimed though 🙂 hence my response.

 

[HaHaRich!]

Call me naive but slashing demand forecasts because of rising hardware costs makes no sense. Unit cost isn’t a demand factor. If the rising cost of memory caused Apple to increase prices of phones then yes, that would cause demand to fall.

If the price is flat, why would demand fall unless there is exogenous factors affecting market demand…

Historically, Apple has kept the prior year phone available after new device release, but dropped the price by about $100. Their forecast could be that sales for 17 won’t reflect the historical demand the 16 and previous devices had when the successor released. Just my 2 cents. Actually, that’s 4 cents now, due to the current cost of my memory

 

[EdwardC]

Bought a 17 last week after deciding it was more than good enough for me. Figured the 18 (non-pro) is at least 6 months away. I have had a 3S which replaced my BlackBerry, 4, 4s, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 16 (still have as my second phone) and a 17. Never had a Pro model so I guess I never knew what or if I was missing out on anything. Probably start holding on for 3 years or longer now if the cost keeps rising.

 

[vantelimus]

…and your location. In the UK, for example, companies are typically considered plural taking a plural verb. “Apple don’t” is expected and correct. In the US, companies are typically considered singular with a singular verb. No idea why the difference only that it is real.

Companies are considered singular entities in the US. In Great Britain they tend to treat collective nouns which define groups of living things as plural. Collections of inanimate objects are treated as singular. And, oddly, the word "collection" is always treated as singular in British English regardless of the constituents which comprise the collection.

 

[smeagol]

Apple's memory and storage prices to consumers were so ridiculously high pre-data center madness, that even with memory prices doubling, they could still enjoy a healthy profit margin without raising prices, which they did for a while, but it probably fell below the 47.9% that they're use to, so, prices are going up.

 

[deaglecat]

But the price hasn’t changed?

Not Yet...

Apple absolutely recognizes the need for price adjustments for the iphone line, I expect that will include price rises for existing models - otherwise the old models will significantly undercut the new ones e.g. many might choose a base 17 for $799 rather than a new 18 pro for (say) $1299.

So, the article is plausible... they are expecting a downturn in demand for the base 17 because they know that prices will rise....and so have asked the supply chain to adjust production accordingly.

 

[vantelimus]

Call me naive but slashing demand forecasts because of rising hardware costs makes no sense. Unit cost isn’t a demand factor. If the rising cost of memory caused Apple to increase prices of phones then yes, that would cause demand to fall.

If the price is flat, why would demand fall unless there is exogenous factors affecting market demand…

The term "demand forecast" is often used informally to mean "the number of units we expect to move." It may be derived from forecasts of several non-equivalent quantities: orders, shipments, channel sell-through, or actual customer demand. Whether it is directly or indirectly related to rising hardware costs is anyone's guess. It is a rumor after all, not a publicly released statement from Apple.

 

[johannnn]

Call me naive but slashing demand forecasts because of rising hardware costs makes no sense.

Either Apple will increase the 17 price mid-cycle (like they did for the Macs etc), or they believe enough people got the 17 last few days (after the 18 price hike rumors) that they believe there will be less demand going forward. Or there will simply be less demand of the 17 going forward because all models (both new and old) will get a price hike in September

 

[CarAnalogy]

Can’t have one without the other. A company cannot survive without making money, and to do so they need to keep customers happy enough to buy their products.

Unless those customers have no other viable option. Which is why a competitive market is important.

 

[vantelimus]

Not Yet...

Apple absolutely recognizes the need for price adjustments for the iphone line, I expect that will include price rises for existing models - otherwise the old models will significantly undercut the new ones e.g. many might choose a base 17 for $799 rather than a new 18 pro for (say) $1299.

So, the article is plausible... they are expecting a downturn in demand for the base 17 because they know that prices will rise....and so have asked the supply chain to adjust production accordingly.

The base price of the iPhone has been $799 for the last 5 years. Due to falling hardware costs, Apple has been able to provide better value (base storage, camera quality, etc.) for the same price. At the same time, US wages have largely averaged out to keep pace with inflation. In 2021, the median weekly earning of a full-time worker was $984. In Q1 of this year, it was $1,233. Do the arithmetic. In 2021, it took 799/984=0.812 weeks of (gross) earnings to buy an iPhone. In Q1 2026, it took 799/1233=0.648 weeks of earnings. That means the cost of an iPhone has dropped (1-(.648/.812))*100=20.197% relative to median wages. And that is largely due to falling hardware costs. Now, hardware costs are going up. You have to expect a price increase.

 

[obviouslogic]

FFS. One person makes a claim and the people on this board start screaming, “the sky is falling”.

Yes, I’m sure demand might dip a little from rising component costs, but that would not be the reason for Apple to start cutting down production of a product at this time of year. It is in fact normal for Apple to cut production of one product, before the release of a new product, which is only 2 months out.

 

[karnac]

Tim saw the writing on the wall with component prices. His expertise and "wisdom" to keep everything in China for 15 years has blown up in his face. "See ya later and good luck, Mr. Ternus!" Tim Apple

 

[JungleNYC]

As many have pointed out, all these price hikes will cause people to hold onto their older devices longer.

The main problem is the new Apple Intelligence features being restricted to only Apple's latest devices, despite promising "AI-Ready" for everything released over the last 2 years+. Customers are going to (rightly) feel like they are being held at gunpoint to upgrade.

Their legacy OS limitations were already over-strict, and this will only drive more unnecessary customer dissatisfaction.

 

[ducknalddon]

Only the prices are still the same, so why would there be less demand?

There has been a lot of publicity about rising prices, I wouldn’t be surprised if that impacted sales across the board. More likely though that prices are going up next week.

 

[musicmachine]

Not Yet...

Apple absolutely recognizes the need for price adjustments for the iphone line, I expect that will include price rises for existing models - otherwise the old models will significantly undercut the new ones e.g. many might choose a base 17 for $799 rather than a new 18 pro for (say) $1299.

So, the article is plausible... they are expecting a downturn in demand for the base 17 because they know that prices will rise....and so have asked the supply chain to adjust production

Couldn’t explain it no better!

 

[Charlie Bonesx]

Call me naive but slashing demand forecasts because of rising hardware costs makes no sense. Unit cost isn’t a demand factor. If the rising cost of memory caused Apple to increase prices of phones then yes, that would cause demand to fall.

If the price is flat, why would demand fall unless there is exogenous factors affecting market demand…

The obvious simple answer is that there’s an as yet unannounced iPhone 17 price increase coming

About a month before Mac prices went up I mentioned in several threads here that if one needed a new Mac that was the time to buy one instead of waiting for them to be both more expensive and more difficult to acquire

Seems like the same could be said for iPhone now

 

[Charlie Bonesx]

FFS. One person makes a claim and the people on this board start screaming, “the sky is falling”.

Yes, I’m sure demand might dip a little from rising component costs, but that would not be the reason for Apple to start cutting down production of a product at this time of year. It is in fact normal for Apple to cut production of one product, before the release of a new product, which is only 2 months out.

The difference this year is that an iPhone 18 isn’t coming in 2 months

 

[svish]

The base 17 is a very good iPhone. Not just the production costs but with new Pro models and foldable coming later during the year, the sales of the base 17 could reduce.