【Anticipation】

People are Anticipationrushing to Apple stores to buy iPhones ahead of possible price hikes, a new report claims.

According to Bloomberg, Apple retail stores across the U.S. have registered increased shopping activity over the weekend, with shoppers "panic-buying" iPhones.

"Almost every customer asked me if prices were going to go up soon," one Apple employee told Bloomberg.

The shoppers are worried about iPhone prices increasing due to the wide-ranging set of tariffs that the Trump administration recently imposed on China and many other countries. In one calculation, the iPhone 16 could go up from $799 to $1,142, and the most expensive model could cost as much as $2,300. The iPhone is mostly produced in China, which was hit with a 54 percent tariff.

These calculations could be way off. Trump could make some sort of trade deal with China, and even if the tariffs remain as they are, it's unclear how much of the price increase Apple would pass on to customers. Still, the sheer prospect of iPhones getting pricier is pushing some buyers to pull the trigger earlier rather than later.

• Apple's iPhone may be the new Signalgate scapegoat
• How Apple and other tech stocks are impacted by Trump tariffs
• Apple releases iOS 18.5 beta. What's new and how to download it now.

The buying frenzy could help Apple's second quarter bottom line; the company is due to reveal its quarterly results on May 1. Following the tariffs news, Apple stock plummeted to about $182 at writing time, down from a high of just over $260 in December 2024.

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})