President Donald Trump levied tariffs against China last week that could raise the price of Apple’s iPhones by hundreds of dollars — which has sent shoppers rushing to Apple stores to buy iPhones before prices potentially go up.
According to Bloomberg, Apple store employees across the U.S. have noticed an increase of foot traffic as customers try to upgrade their iPhones in a panic.
“Almost every customer asked me if prices were going to go up soon,” one employee told the outlet.
The lines weren’t as long as those after a new iPhone launch, but they were substantial enough for the stores to feel like they do during the busy holiday season, the employees said. Apple has not announced any price changes in response to tariffs, but the uncertainty of the situation has brought customers to Apple stores.
“I think everyone is here because of the fear, they don’t know what’s going to happen,” one shopper told Bloomberg on Monday afternoon.
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Apple has lost nearly 20% of its market value over the past three trading days, a $638 billion loss in market capitalization, due to investor concerns that tariffs will cause Apple to raise prices. Trump levied total tariffs of 54% on imports from China since the start of the year and proposed an additional 50% tariff this week.
Though Apple has factories in India, Vietnam, and Thailand, the company relies heavily on China, where almost all iPhones are assembled. About 90% of iPhones are made in China, per CNBC.
Morgan Stanley analysts predicted on Friday that Apple could absorb tariff costs, estimated at $34 billion annually.
UBS analysts stated on Monday that the price of the now-$1,199 iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple’s highest-end iPhone, could jump in the U.S. by as much as $350 in response to tariffs. The analysts predicted an almost 30% spike in iPhone prices overall, depending on where they were manufactured.
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Apple could adjust costs by moving manufacturing from China to India, which has a lower tariff of 26%. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Apple is on track to assemble 25 million iPhones in India in 2025 and if all of those India-made phones went to U.S. consumers, Apple could meet 50% of U.S. demand for the iPhone this year.
Apple has made iPhones in India since 2017, intending to eventually build more than 50 million smartphones in the country every year.
Making iPhones in the U.S. is out of the question because the cost of manufacturing would be too high for Apple, and the supply chain logistics would be complicated, per The Journal. A U.S.-made iPhone would be triple the usual cost, as much as $3,500.
Apple is currently selling iPhone inventory that it has already imported. The company will most likely start feeling the effects of tariffs in its fourth quarter beginning in July, per Bloomberg.
iPhone sales account for over half of Apple’s annual revenue. Of the $390.8 billion in revenue Apple generated in 2024, 51% was due to the iPhone.
