If your iPhone is one of the 15 models on Apple’s Apple Intelligence device list, the cheapest way in costs nothing: iOS 27 arrives free on Monday, September 14. If it is not, the least expensive route Apple sells is the $699 iPhone 17e, and the same model was listed at $599 before September 9.
That is the part of this launch nobody put on stage. Apple raised the price of all four carryover iPhones by $100 each on September 9, so the cheapest door into Apple Intelligence moved up with them. Apple has also confirmed in its own footnotes that expanded access to some of these features will be available for a fee in the future, without naming a price.
Key facts: the cheapest published routes in
| Route | What it costs | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| iOS 27 on an iPhone you already own from the list | Free, from September 14 | Only if your model is one of the 15 |
| iPhone 17e, new from Apple | $699 | Apple’s least expensive Apple Intelligence iPhone, up $100 since September 8 |
| iPhone 17e after Apple’s lowest published trade-in credit | $524 | Apple’s range is $175 to $885 for an iPhone 13 or later, subject to inspection |
| iPhone 17e in the Veterans and Military store | $629.10 | 10 percent off, but Apple Card installments and the Apple Upgrade lease are not available there |
| Apple Upgrade lease | From $17.99 a month | A lease rather than ownership, and AppleCare is not included |
Two of those numbers are ours rather than Apple’s. The $524 is $699 minus the $175 floor of Apple’s trade-in range, and the $629.10 is $699 minus 10 percent. Apple publishes no monthly installment figure for the iPhone 17e either. Across the 24 months at 0 percent APR Apple offers on iPhone, $699 is $29.13 a month by our arithmetic.
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The 15 iPhones that already qualify
Apple’s Apple Intelligence page lists iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, every iPhone 16 model including the 16e and the Plus, every iPhone 17 model including the 17e and the Air, and the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo. Its shorthand on the operating system pages is iPhone 16 and later plus iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Eight of those 15 are models Apple no longer sells, which is the practical point. Own an iPhone 15 Pro or anything in the iPhone 16 family and you are already inside, with Monday’s update the entire cost. Own an iPhone 15, 14 or 13 and you can install iOS 27 but cannot run Apple Intelligence on it, and no update will change that.
The price ladder, rung by rung
| Model | Apple’s starting price | Above the $699 entry |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17e | $699 | Entry |
| iPhone 16 | $799 | $100 |
| iPhone 17 | $899 | $200 |
| iPhone Air | $1,099 | $400 |
| iPhone 18 Pro | $1,199 | $500 |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max | $1,299 | $600 |
| iPhone Duo | $1,999 | $1,300 |
One correction to that ladder. Apple’s advertised prices for iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 include a $30 carrier connectivity discount that requires activation, named for those two models only. Unlocked they are $829 and $929, so the real gap between the 17e and an unlocked iPhone 16 is $130, not $100.
What $699 does not buy
Apple runs a second, higher tier that its footnotes call an advanced on-device model. Siri voice customization, covering pitch, speed, tone and accent, and the improved on-device Dictation are listed for iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo only.
With the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max discontinued on September 9, the least expensive iPhone Apple now sells that clears that bar is the iPhone Air at $1,099. By our arithmetic that is $400 above the entry price, and it is the number to know if voice customization is what you are shopping for rather than Apple Intelligence in general. The A20 Pro chip raises the ceiling again without changing which features are gated.
The fee Apple has confirmed and has not priced
Apple’s footnote is specific about the limits and silent on the price. It says features relying on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, intelligent photo editing tools, Image Playground and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts, that those limits vary by feature, request complexity and system demand, and that expanded access will be available for a fee in the future.
Apple’s June announcement added that increased access is available with most iCloud+ plans. So one paid path already exists, a separate fee has been confirmed, and neither has been priced for the features launching this week.
What Apple has not said
- No price, no date and no name for the future paid tier, and no list of which features it will cover.
- No numbers for the daily usage limits themselves, only that they vary by feature, request complexity and system demand.
- Siri AI is beta and English first, with five more languages in October, and Apple says it will not be available initially in the EU on iOS, iPadOS or watchOS.
- Apple Watch is not a route in. Series 9 and later, Ultra 2 and later and SE 3 get these features only when paired with an Apple Intelligence iPhone.
- Apple Certified Refurbished did not undercut $699 on September 10. The newest iPhone there was an iPhone 16 512GB at $909, with no iPhone 17-generation stock and no published schedule for it.
iOS 27 lands on Monday, September 14 and Apple Intelligence launches with it. The iPhone 18 Pro reaches stores on Friday, September 18 after pre-orders open at 5 a.m. PT on Saturday, September 12, and the iPhone Duo follows on Friday, October 23. Our price breakdown and the event recap cover the rest.
