iPhone 18 Pro May Retain 256GB Base Storage

According to a market report from Taiwanese research firm TrendForce, Apple plans to stick with 256GB as the starting storage capacity for the iPhone 18 Pro, matching the entry configuration introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro generation (via MacRumors).

While Apple previously doubled the entry-level capacity from 128GB on the iPhone 16 Pro to 256GB on the iPhone 17 Pro, industry analysts do not expect a similar bump to 512GB this year. The decision affects the flagship tier, with both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max expected to share identical starting storage tiers.

The choice to maintain current storage tiers comes down to severe cost pressures across Apple’s supply chain. TrendForce estimates that the bill of materials to build the iPhone 18 Pro has jumped nearly 38 percent compared to last year’s model.

A major driver behind the increased manufacturing expense is an ongoing global memory chip shortage. Rapid expansion in AI infrastructure and data centre construction has created a severe supply-demand imbalance for RAM and high-performance SSD storage. Beyond memory, production costs for Apple’s upcoming A20 Pro processor are also trending higher.

Because of these rising component expenses, retail price hikes for the flagship series appear difficult to avoid. Industry estimates suggest U.S. starting prices for the iPhone 18 Pro could rise by $200 to $300 over current models. If those estimates hold true, the iPhone 18 Pro could start around $1,399 in the U.S., while the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max could reach a starting price of $1,499. Canadian prices will also see an increase across these models accordingly.

Earlier this summer, Apple increased retail prices on several product categories, including Mac computers, iPads, Apple TV units, HomePod speakers, and the Vision Pro headset. Price adjustments ranged from modest bumps on smaller accessories to substantial increases on high-end workstation configurations.

At the time, Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed directly to memory market volatility, describing the situation as a massive disruption to component pricing that forced the company to adjust retail costs.