Apple's Australian store lists the iPhone 17 at A$1,549 for the 256GB model today. When Apple announced that phone in September 2025, its own Australian newsroom post put the RRP at A$1,399 for the same 256GB starting size. Same phone, A$150 more.

The 17e has copped the same increase. Apple launched it in March at A$999, and that price was basically the whole pitch, a current iPhone for under a grand. It sits at A$1,149 now. The iPhone Air has moved as well, from A$1,799 at launch to A$1,899 today, so A$100 on that one.

Apple never announced it

There was no press release. It did not come up at Wednesday's event and Apple has not published anything about it since. The numbers on the store simply changed. I cannot tell you which day it happened either, because Apple does not publish a price history and has not confirmed a date.

Overseas reporting has the same rise landing in other markets at around the same time, straight after the iPhone 18 Pro was announced, and memory chip costs are getting the blame. That is the industry's read on it. Apple has not given a reason, so treat the why as unconfirmed.

What the lineup costs here now

Every one of these came off Apple's own Australian store this morning. iPhone 17e from A$1,149 with 256GB. iPhone 16 at A$1,349 with 128GB. iPhone 17 from A$1,549. iPhone Air from A$1,899. iPhone 18 Pro from A$2,099. iPhone Duo from A$3,499.

One caveat on the 16. It is still on the store at that price, but Apple does not publish what it was selling for last week, so I am not going to claim it moved.

The part worth sitting with is what happened at the cheap end. The 17e at A$999 was an easy phone to recommend to anyone who did not want to think about it. At A$1,149 it is still the best value in the lineup on paper, A$200 under the iPhone 16 with double the storage. It is just A$150 worse than it was six months ago, for a phone that has not changed at all.