Apple’s press release says iPhone 18 Pro “starts at $1,199 (U.S.),” while Apple’s own US store listed the 6.3-inch 256GB model, unlocked, at $1,299. Both figures are Apple’s, both describe the same phone, and the $100 between them is a carrier connectivity discount that Apple never states as a number anywhere.
That gap decides something today rather than in the abstract. Pre-orders open at 5:00 a.m. PT on Saturday, September 12, which is 12:00 UTC, and the connectivity choice is made at checkout, not adjusted afterwards.
| Item | What Apple publishes |
|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro starting price | $1,199, in Apple’s press release |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max starting price | $1,299, in the same release |
| 6.3-inch 256GB, unlocked, US store | $1,299 |
| The difference between the two | Never stated as a figure |
| Connectivity discount amount Apple names | $30, and only on iPhone 17 and iPhone 16 |
| Carrier choices at Apple’s US checkout | AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or connect on your own later |
| UK equivalent | £1,199 in the release and £1,199 in the store |
Two Apple prices for one iPhone
Apple’s wording in the iPhone 18 Pro announcement is that the phone “starts at $1,199 (U.S.) or $49.95 (U.S.) per month for 24 months.” The monthly figure is the tell: $49.95 across 24 months comes to $1,198.80, so Apple built its own installment number on $1,199 rather than on $1,299.
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The store page for the unlocked 6.3-inch 256GB model read $1,299 instead. Apple publishes no sentence reconciling the two, and no page that prints the $100 as a number.
One reason the figure is easy to misread is that $1,299 is also Apple’s published starting price for the 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max. The same four digits do two jobs inside Apple’s own pricing, which is worth knowing before you compare screenshots with anyone.
What a connectivity discount is, in Apple’s words
Apple’s footnote reads: “Connectivity discounts are reflected in the advertised price of select iPhone models, and are available to customers who connect with select carriers at the time of purchase. The discount is not available for customers who choose to connect to a carrier later, or who have a prepaid carrier plan.”
Apple attaches an amount to that sentence only on older phones. It states a “$30 AT&T connectivity discount that requires carrier activation” on iPhone 17, and the same $30 on iPhone 16. For iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo, Apple publishes no connectivity discount figure at all.
So the $100 is arithmetic performed across two Apple pages. It is not a discount Apple advertises, and it is not a price cut. It is the difference between an advertised price that assumes a carrier and a listing that does not.
Footnote 13 asks for a carrier and still calls the phone unlocked
Apple’s footnote 13 says financing “requires users to select Apple Card Monthly Installments (ACMI) as their payment type at checkout at Apple. They’ll need to select AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon as their carrier when they check out. An iPhone purchased with ACMI is always unlocked, so they can switch carriers at any time, subject to their carrier’s terms.”
Apple’s separate lease product carries the same requirement. The Apple Upgrade footnote states that it “requires selection of an eligible carrier.” Both of Apple’s financing routes therefore force a carrier choice at the moment of purchase, and the only route that does not is paying the full amount with the connect-later option selected.
Boost also appears as a carrier option in Apple’s online store alongside the three named in footnote 13. Apple has published no iPhone 18 Pro credit terms for Boost, and does not say whether it counts for a connectivity discount.
The tier prices Apple does publish
| Storage | iPhone 18 Pro | iPhone 18 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
| 256GB | $1,199 | $1,299 |
| 512GB | $1,399 | $1,499 |
| 1TB | $1,799 | $1,899 |
| 2TB | $2,399 | $2,499 |
Those are the figures in Apple’s own configurator, and the $100 gap between Pro and Pro Max holds at all four tiers. Apple has not published a second, unlocked price list, so the only unlocked figure on the record is the $1,299 read against the 256GB 6.3-inch model. Do not assume the same $100 applies at 512GB, 1TB or 2TB until Apple lists it.
The split is also specific to the United States. Apple’s UK release says iPhone 18 Pro starts at £1,199 and the UK store lists the 256GB at £1,199, the same number either way, which is what makes the US figure a carrier artifact rather than a global pricing structure. Apple also raised the price of the older iPhones it kept on sale this month, as our breakdown of the $100 increase sets out.
What has not been confirmed
- The $100 difference as a published number. Apple states neither the delta nor a connectivity discount amount for any 2026 iPhone.
- Unlocked list prices for the 512GB, 1TB and 2TB tiers.
- Whether Boost qualifies for a connectivity discount, and what it is offering.
- How the carrier price interacts with Apple trade-in credit, which Apple applies instantly at purchase.
- The carriers’ own terms. Verizon’s iPhone 18 Pro page publishes only a pre-order time, AT&T’s deals page still leads with last year’s Pro Max, and T-Mobile’s terms could not be verified first hand.
Pre-orders open at 5:00 a.m. PT today, Saturday September 12, and the phones reach stores on Friday, September 18 in more than 65 countries, with 20 more following on Friday, September 25. If you want the $1,199 figure, Apple’s own footnotes say a carrier has to be selected in the same checkout, and our event recap covers everything else Apple priced on September 9.
