For the first time ever, Apple announced new iPhones and made the old ones cost MORE. Here’s what’s driving the bump, and how to buy TVs, laptops and phones before prices climb again.

September 16, 2026

By Kim Komando

Here’s something Apple has never done before. Last week when it announced new iPhones, it raised the price of the old ones.

The iPhone 16 went from $699 to $799 overnight. The iPhone 17, same phone, no changes, jumped from $799 to $899. The 17e and the Air each went up $100, too.

For 20 years, the deal was simple. New iPhone lands, last year’s model gets cheaper. Patience paid. This year, patience got punished.

🌊 Why? Memory chips

AI data centers are vacuuming up the world’s RAM. Memory and storage prices have quadrupled in three quarters. Micron’s profit margin went from 39% to 84.9%.

Tim Cook, in his last months as CEO, called it a hundred-year flood. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.”

This isn’t limited to phones. 

Everything with a chip has RAM: TVs, laptops, tablets, doorbells, cars. Meta added $50 to the Quest 3S. Apple already raised MacBooks and iPads $100 to $300. Gartner expects PC shipments to fall 10.4% this year and phones 8.4%. Analysts predict this runs into 2027.

Companies hate scaring you with a bigger number, so some won’t raise the price. TrendForce’s research VP says manufacturers will quietly cut performance instead. 

Same $499 laptop, less machine inside. Shrinkflation for your electronics.

💰 How to save money

• Phones: Don’t buy an iPhone from Apple right now. Carriers still have old inventory at old prices, and trade-in deals soften the blow. Or keep yours another year. A new battery runs about $89 at Apple and makes a 3-year-old phone feel new.
• TVs: Buy last year’s model number. The 2025 panel is the same glass with a slightly older chip, and it’s hundreds less. Black Friday inventory was ordered months ago at old prices, so this holiday is the last cheap one for some time.
• Laptops: Refurbished is the move. Apple’s refurb store and Amazon carry real warranties. And check the RAM before you buy. If two models look identical but one is $80 cheaper, that’s where they cut.
• Tablets and watches: Go one generation back. Consumer Reports found the Galaxy Watch8 at $300 versus $380 for the Watch9, and the 8 tested beautifully.

Anything you were already going to buy: Buy it before Christmas.

I’m not telling you to panic-buy. I’m telling you the January sales you’re waiting for probably aren’t coming.

📩 Send this to someone who is shopping for any electronics between now and the end of the year.