Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman sheds some light on the struggles that Apple has been facing recently ever since President Trump announced an extensive list of tariffs. Seemingly every region of the world has seen a massive increase in tariffs and all of Apple’s manufacturing hubs have been affected.
China — where Apple still manufactures most of its products — is now at a ridiculous 54 percent tariff rate. Other countries where Apple has facilities — India, Vietnam and Brazil for example — have also seen tariff increases.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has apparently failed to do what he did during President Trump’s first term: convince him to not impose tariffs on Apple’s business. These tariffs have sent Apple shares into freefall alongside other major companies and Apple is now reportedly scrambling to come up with solutions.
There will always be the iPhone 16e, and any successors that follow it, but the flagship iPhone experience is likely going to become more expensive this year. The price increase could be as little as $50 but crossing the 1,000 mark is going to induce a lot more sticker shock as Gurman puts it.
That, coupled with the less than stellar hardware and software upgrades in recent times, may even put off some consumers from the Apple ecosystem entirely. Which is a shame because Apple is becoming a self-reliant powerhouse and has, or had, a bright future ahead of it.
