The expectations are now firmly set: the iPhone 17 Pro will come with a higher price and a lower storage option.
The latest leak from Weibo joins others in claiming that the model will start at US$1,049 for 256GB of storage, up from US$999 for 128GB on the iPhone 16 Pro.
This change drops the entry-level 128GB configuration altogether, leaving buyers with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB options. This is lower than the four levels last year.
Apple has used this strategy before. In 2023, the company raised the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max from $1,099 to $1,199 while offering a new base storage of 256GB.
At the time, the move allowed Apple to justify the price increase by offering more storage capacity out of the gate. It seems that the iPhone 17 Pro will follow the same rules of the game after two years.
Last week, this leaker suggested a $50 price increase for the Pro range but left storage details uncertain. Today’s update from Instant digital It confirms that the iPhone 17 Pro will start with 256GB, setting expectations ahead of its September launch. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is still expected to start at 256GB, while the standard iPhone 17 and the new iPhone 17 Air are likely to start at 128GB.
Pricing for the lineup is expected to start at $799 for the base model, which is consistent with last year, with the Air replacing the Plus at $949. The iPhone 17 Pro will be priced at $1,049, and the Pro Max will be priced at $1,249, $50 each more than its predecessors. Whether the Pro Max will get an increase in base storage is still uncertain, but it’s unlikely.


