Apple CEO Tim Cook wants everyone\u2014especially Donald Trump\u2014to know that the company\u2019s new iPhone Pro price hike has nothing to do with tariffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no increase for tariffs in the prices to be totally clear,\u201d Cook told CNBC\u2019s Jim Cramer<\/a> on Friday, the launch day for Apple\u2019s iPhone 17 lineup. Earlier this month, Apple announced it would be raising the starting price for its most advanced iPhone by $100.<\/p>\n For the first time since the iPhone X debuted in 2017, Apple\u2019s entry-level Pro model starts above $999. Analysts had predicted the increase, noting that major gaming companies also recently raised prices on their consoles<\/a>.<\/p>\n For months, Cook and other executives have tried to stay on Trump\u2019s good side in hopes of getting favorable policies for their respective businesses. But that has proven to be trickier than expected, as the president has shown no hesitation to involve himself in the affairs of private corporations, leaving top CEOs balancing on a very thin tightrope.<\/p>\n Since Trump\u2019s election in November, big names like OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman, Nvidia\u2019s Jensen Huang, and Meta\u2019s Mark Zuckerberg have all met with him. Cook even presented Trump with a glass sculpture and pledged to boost Apple\u2019s U.S. investments to $600 billion in an attempt to navigate Trump\u2019s tariff threats against China and India, where most iPhones are assembled.<\/p>\n Apple isn\u2019t alone in pledging huge investments. OpenAI, Eli Lilly, General Motors, and more have also promised billions in U.S. investments. But it seems these offerings of goodwill can only get you so far with Trump.<\/p>\n Even after Hyundai pledged $26 billion in U.S. investments, federal immigration agents raided its under-construction battery plant<\/a> in Georgia.<\/p>\n For Apple, the tariffs have already cost it some money<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the June quarter, we incurred approximately $800 million of tariff-related costs,\u201d Cook admitted on an August earnings call. He said those costs could climb to $1.1 billion in the September quarter if Trump\u2019s trade policies remain unchanged. But Cook maintains they played no role in the price hike.<\/p>\n Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo.<\/p>\n But even if tariffs are nudging prices upward, Cook has little incentive to say so.<\/p>\n Trump has been quick to attack companies that cite tariffs for raising consumer prices. In May, he blasted Walmart on Truth Social after its CEO warned it couldn\u2019t keep absorbing rising costs, writing that the company should \u201cEAT THE TARIFFS<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Since then, Trump has taken an even more direct approach with companies.<\/p>\n Last month, the U.S. government bought a stake in struggling chipmaker Intel<\/a> after Trump called for CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign.<\/p>\n