The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo grabbed the spotlight at Apple's September 9 event, but several smaller announcements will affect more wallets. Here is what else changed, plus the Mac news Apple handled by press release two weeks earlier.
Older iPhones got more expensive
In an unusual move, Apple raised prices on every iPhone that stayed in the lineup. The iPhone 16 now starts at $799, the iPhone 17e at $699, the iPhone 17 at $899 and the iPhone Air at $1,099, each up $100. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max were discontinued outright. MacRumors ties the increases to component costs rather than tariffs: CEO Tim Cook said in June that Apple could no longer absorb the rising price of memory and storage chips, which AI data center buildouts have pushed into short supply.
Services and support changes
- AppleCare One gained a Family Plan that covers up to six people.
- Free satellite features were extended for iPhone 14, 15 and 16 owners.
- Apple TV's monthly price rose to $14.99 from $12.99 in late August.
- Siri AI, launching in beta, will have daily usage limits, and Apple says an Expanded Access tier will be sold for a fee later.
The Macs are coming, just not from the stage
MacRumors confirms no Mac, iPad or other product category appeared at the event. That is because Apple announced its desktops on August 25. The new Mac mini starts at $899 with an M6 chip (12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, dual Neural Engine) and is also offered with an M5 Pro. The new Mac Studio starts at $2,499 with M5 Max and $5,499 with M5 Ultra, a chip with up to a 36-core CPU, Thunderbolt 5 and support for up to eight displays. Both desktops ship September 22.
Mark Gurman has also reported an OLED iPad mini is planned for October, which would make this one of Apple's busiest falls in years.
Photo: Apple (source)
