Thinner iPhone and New Translation Headphones Weigh Down Apple Stock

Apple unveiled an upgraded line of iPhones on Tuesday, including the thinner iPhone Air, but opted not to raise prices despite tariffs from the U.S. administration that have hurt the company’s profitability. The iPhone Air comes with a high-density battery and a completely new processor, starting at $999. This was a crucial piece of information for Wall Street financiers who were interested in whether Apple would increase the price of the iPhone or seek alternative ways to offset tariff costs, such as raising the price of phones with more storage capacity.

During the presentation, which was attended by CEO Tim Cook, it was noted that the new model is the ‘most durable iPhone yet,’ according to Reuters. It will use the A19 Pro, a processor chip that the company stated has been tailored for better energy efficiency and performance to match the device’s thinner battery. Competitors, including Samsung, are already selling phones with an exceptionally thin profile.

The price of the iPhone Air is positioned in the middle of Apple’s offering, as analysts had predicted. Apple also introduced the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro, the latest upgrade of its flagship smartphone, as well as a new version of AirPods Pro wireless headphones and a blood pressure monitoring app in its latest Apple Watch. A specific feature of the new headphones is that they will enable live language translation. During the presentation, company executives explained that if both parties in a conversation are wearing the new AirPods Pro 3 headphones, the devices will translate conversations almost in real-time.

The base model version of the iPhone 17 with 256 gigabytes will be available in the U.S. market for $799, the same as the previous iPhone 16 with half the storage space. The iPhone 17 Pro will have a starting price of $1,099 for the 256-gigabyte model, the same as last year’s model with the same storage size, but without the option of a lower-capacity phone at a lower price of $999 like the iPhone 16 Pro.

Apple also did not raise prices on its watch models or the new AirPods Pro 3. The prices indicate that Apple is willing to absorb the cost of tariffs to better withstand competition from Samsung, Google’s Alphabet, and Chinese manufacturers, even though it has projected that tariffs will cost it more than a billion dollars in the current fiscal quarter.

Apple’s stock fell 1.6 percent to $234 after the company announced smartphone prices. – They are using their size to try to keep prices stable – said Tom Mainelli, head of IDC’s Device and Consumer Research Group. – I think Apple, like most tech suppliers, is very aware, especially in the U.S., that tariffs will affect consumers’ ability to spend in the second half of this year – Mainelli added.