The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max went on sale this week in the US, along with 64 other countries in the first wave. If you have your eyes on an iPhone Duo, you’ll have to wait more than another month to get it. As for the new Pro models, here’s a reminder of their prices: They cost $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max last year. As is tradition, Apple stopped selling the old Pro when the new ones were introduced; only non-Pro models last more than a year on Apple.com. But that doesn’t stop third-party retailers from selling older Pros, as you’ll see below. What used to happen every September is this: new generation iPhone releases, both Pro and vanilla phones. Then the old Pros are discontinued and the old basic models get a $100 price cut. Well, not this year: First, there are no new vanilla or Air models yet, and second, older models got a $100 price increase. So even if the iPhone 17 Pro still existed, it wouldn’t have made sense: it started at $1,100 last year and a $100 price increase would put it at the same $1,200 price as the 18 Pro. Instead, we’ll take a look at refurbished units. Amazon’s Renewed Premium brand means no scratches on the screen, no cosmetic damage to the body (at least nothing that’s visible from 12 inches away), over 90% battery health, and a suite of accessories (either original or third-party; basically just a cable and a SIM ejector). The iPhone 17 Pro was $1,100 for a 256GB drive when new, but you can get a year-old refurbished 17 Pro for just under $1,000. The new model brings Apple’s first 2nm chipset (the A20 Pro is a beast) and has a smaller hole for the FaceTime camera and Face ID system. There is also a variable aperture and faster charging (50% in 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes). Because of how popular it was, the Cosmic Orange version is usually the cheapest. The iPhone 17 Pro Max cost $1,200 last year (for a 256GB drive). And a year later, a refurbished unit costs $1,200. Wait, what? We also checked Walmart and got the same price – it’s a crazy world where old electronics cost as much or more than when they were new. Anyway, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is the fastest charging iPhone yet and can reach 50% charge in just 15 minutes, compared to the 17 Pro Max which needs 20 minutes. The iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17e are still available at Apple.com. After the price increase, they cost $900, $1,100, and $700, respectively, for the base 256GB models. Since we were looking at refurbished units anyway, we checked how much they cost compared to new, and we’re happy to report that refurbished units are cheaper than new. If you opt for an iPhone 18 Pro or 18 Pro Max, you may want to purchase a case. Here are the official Apple cases: TechWoven, Silicone and Clear. All three are MagSafe compatible. The new AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4 will also hit stores this week. This only leaves the iPhone Duo out of the new ads; again, it will arrive at the end of October. Meanwhile, Samsung’s 2026 foldable devices are well discounted, considering they were only launched in August. The Galaxy Z Fold8 is the Duo’s main rival in the US market. It’s thinner (9.7mm vs. 11.3mm) and much lighter (201g vs. 254g), while offering essentially the same internal screen size. The Z Fold8 has a 5.5″ 4:3 clamshell display and is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. It has a 50MP (1/1.56″) main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera, along with two 10MP selfie cameras, both with punch-holes. Meanwhile, Apple used an under-display camera for the Duo’s internal selfie module. Additionally, there is no stylus support, unlike the Duo, which does work with a stylus. Another victory for Apple or not? Would you use a stylus on your foldable? Even the big Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is lighter than the Duo: it weighs just 215g, 39g less than Apple’s foldable. The 8″ square interior display has around 17% more interior surface area. Additionally, the tall, slim 6.5″ 21:9 clamshell display is easier to use with one hand: the Ultra is 72.8mm wide when closed, the Duo is 84.1mm. The Ultra also has a 200MP main camera, a dedicated telephoto lens (10MP 3x/67mm), and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens. If you want something compact, the Galaxy Z Flip8 has an 85.7 x 75.4 x 13.1mm drive that weighs 180g. It has a 4.1” square cover screen and a 6.9” 21:9 inner screen. The cameras aren’t amazing, as you get a 50MP (1/1.57″) main and a 12MP ultra-wide, plus a 10MP selfie. We may receive a commission on qualifying sales.
