10th September 2026 – (Hong Kong) Shoppers hoping Apple would slash last year’s handsets after its autumn launch instead face higher tickets: the company has lifted Hong Kong official starting prices on the iPhone 16, iPhone 17, iPhone Air and iPhone 17e by HK$900 to HK$1,000 amid soaring memory costs.
The move follows the Cupertino event that put the iPhone 18 Pro on sale from HK$10,499 and the foldable iPhone Duo from HK$17,499. Apple’s usual playbook after a new generation arrives is to retire the previous Pro models and cut the remaining older slabs so bargain hunters can buy discounted stock. This year that discount habit has been broken — existing non-Pro lines are dearer, not cheaper, so the entry barrier for “old” iPhones has jumped sharply.
Apple’s Hong Kong website now shows these starting-price shifts across all four models still on the shelf. The iPhone 16 rises from HK$5,999 to HK$6,999, up HK$1,000 or about 17 per cent. The iPhone 17 moves from HK$6,899 to HK$7,799, up HK$900 or about 13 per cent. The iPhone Air climbs from HK$8,599 to HK$9,499, up HK$900 or about 10 per cent. The entry-level iPhone 17e goes from HK$5,099 to HK$5,999, up HK$900 or about 18 per cent — the steepest percentage lift among the four opening tags, taking the cheapest current iPhone to a new HK$5,999 floor.
Larger storage tiers are rising by more than the base models, Apple’s local list shows. The sharpest figure cited is the iPhone Air 1TB configuration, now HK$14,799 after a HK$2,800 increase — a far bigger step than the Air’s HK$900 entry-level bump. For the older iPhone 16, the 128GB version likewise jumps from HK$5,999 to HK$6,999, a HK$1,000 step that matches the new starting price and leaves no low-capacity escape from the hike.
Context underlines how unusual the rebound is. When the iPhone 17 launched in 2025, Apple’s Hong Kong opening price was HK$8,599; the iPhone 17e arrived in March 2026 from HK$5,099 with a 256GB base. Fans who waited for the 18 Pro and Duo cycle expecting markdowns on those earlier sets now confront a market where memory inflation is pushing every listed rung higher — from the HK$5,999 17e and HK$6,999 16 floor through the HK$7,799 17 and HK$9,499 Air starts to the HK$14,799 Air 1TB ceiling flagged beside the new HK$10,499 Pro and HK$17,499 Duo flagships.