Live updates: Apple event; New ‘AI’ feature for iPhone 16 expected | CNN Business

A major question heading into Apple’s annual hardware event on Monday is how much customers will have to shell out for the new iPhone 16 lineup.

For the last four years, the starting price at launch for the new iPhones was $799.

Apple enthusiasts have debated for years whether iPhone models should be cheaper, while investors would prefer maximum profit.

Many analysts, including CFRA Research’s Angelo Zino, say Apple could modestly raise prices “across the board” for the iPhone lineup because of the new AI features and the cost to the company of delivering them.

However, it almost certainly won’t be a major hike because “they don’t want to lose the (customer) enthusiasm because of sticker shock,” D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria told CNN.

If Apple delivers, it could cash in — roughly 300 million iPhones worldwide have not been upgraded in more than four years, according to a research note from analyst Dan Ives of investment firm Wedbush last month.