Apple unveils its iPhone 18 lineup today, September 9, at its “Surprise and Shine” event. The Wall Street Journal reports the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to start around $1,299, with the Pro Max around $1,399 in the US, both above last year’s Pro-tier pricing. Apple hasn’t confirmed official prices yet.
What That Costs in Crypto Today
With Bitcoin trading at $79,196.62 and Ethereum at $2,500.09, an estimated $1,299 iPhone 18 Pro would run about 0.0164 BTC or 0.52 ETH. The Pro Max, at an estimated $1,399, comes to roughly 0.0177 BTC or 0.56 ETH.
Breaking a Multi-Year Trend
According to CoinGecko research tracking iPhone launch prices against BTC and ETH since 2011, the amount of crypto needed to buy each new iPhone has fallen almost every year. The iPhone 4S required a staggering 162.25 BTC back in 2011. By last year’s iPhone 17, that number had shrunk to just 0.007 BTC, an almost uninterrupted decade-and-a-half decline as Bitcoin’s price climbed. Ethereum tells the same story: an iPhone cost 876.4 ETH in 2015, falling to just 0.18 ETH for the iPhone 17 last year.
This year looks different. Bitcoin’s price today sits well below where it was at last September’s iPhone launch, while Apple appears set to raise Pro-tier pricing by $150 to $200. Put those two forces together and the iPhone 18 Pro could require noticeably more Bitcoin than the iPhone 17 Pro did a year ago, a rare reversal after years of iPhones getting steadily cheaper in crypto terms.
Still Nothing Like 2011
Even with this year’s uptick, today’s price tag remains a tiny fraction of what early Bitcoin holders once paid. The gap between 162 BTC for a 2011 iPhone and roughly 0.016 BTC for a 2026 Pro model still reflects Bitcoin’s enormous rise in value over 15 years, this year’s move is a blip on an otherwise steep decline, not a reversal of the broader trend.
What’s Actually Launching Today
Beyond pricing, today’s event is expected to headline the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, both powered by Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip, the A20 Pro, alongside Apple’s first-ever foldable iPhone. Reports suggest the standard iPhone 18 and a budget iPhone 18e won’t arrive until spring 2027, splitting Apple’s usual single-launch calendar into two release windows for the first time in years.