The prices of phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, which are among the most popular gadgets in the world, have increased. Such gadgets are largely manufactured in China. According to US President Donald Trump's controversial trade policy, 145 percent customs duty will be levied on goods imported from China to the US.

Everyone's attention is focused on the effect of which will affect the price of Apple, iPhone and the market. 

According to some analysts, if the cost of this customs duty falls on the consumer, the price of the iPhone in the US may increase by hundreds of dollars. According to Counterpoint Research, America is the largest market for iPhones. According to the report, about 80 percent of iPhones sold in the US are made in China, while the remaining 20 percent are made in India.

Apple, along with other big smartphone companies like Samsung, has recently been trying to diversify its supply chain without relying too much on China. They plan to bring India and Vietnam forward as new manufacturing hubs. Apple is trying to ramp up iPhone manufacturing in India as new tariffs come into effect, according to Reuters. According to a Reuters report, Apple recently used a chartered cargo flight to ship more than 600 tons of iPhones from India to the US.

President Trump has suspended customs duties in countries other than China for 90 days. It seems that America can benefit by increasing iPhone production in India. The BBC reported that Apple has been asked to comment on the impact of customs duties, but has not yet received a response. According to Trump and his advisers, the main purpose of the tariffs is to stimulate production within the United States. But the technology industry works differently. The industry relies on a global supply network for the process of making and joining device parts, i.e. 'assembly'.

In addition, it is not easy to find skilled workers in Asia to produce quickly and cheaply in countries like the US. Therefore, moving the supply chain is not an easy task. Apple announced in February that it will invest 500 billion dollars in the United States. But according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, it will take time and money to move the U.S. from cheaper manufacturing centers in Asia. He wrote in X last April 3, "The reality is, we estimate that moving even 10 percent of the supply chain from Asia to the US will take 3 years and 30 billion dollars, and it will bring great disarray." 

Apple has not yet revealed whether it will pass the cost of customs duties on to consumers or whether it will increase the price of iPhones in the US. According to some analysts, Apple is in a slightly safer position than other companies because it makes more profit from its products. Deepanjan Chatterjee, chief analyst at Forrester, says, "As a company that makes good profits on its equipment, Apple can handle some of the increased costs due to customs duties in the short term without having a major financial impact." 

But even if he made this comment, Apple's strong brand and popularity is unlikely to cause much opposition even if he passes some of the costs on to consumers. Analysts claim that Apple has more brand loyalty than competitors and users are less likely to switch to Android immediately because of the small price hike. According to some estimates, if all costs were to be paid by the consumer, the price of the iPhone in the US could triple.

According to an investment bank called UBS, after Trump raised the customs duty on China to 145, the price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 256 GB of storage made in China will increase from 1,199 US dollars to 1,999 US dollars. The estimated price hike for the India-made iPhone 16 Pro with 128GB storage will be relatively low. The price of which is estimated to increase by 5 percent from 999 US dollars to 1 thousand 46.

analyst Dan Ives says, "If the iPhone is to be made in America, its price can reach 3,500 US dollars." Even now, there is a lot of uncertainty about what will happen in the future. It's not yet clear how companies like Apple will respond to the tax. We may have to wait until this fall to find out how much the next iPhone will cost. But if the tax increases the price of phones, it is expected that many people will look to other brands of phones or old, used mobiles.