Memory Costs Forcing Apple to Raise iPhone 18 Prices

According to a market intelligence report published by research firm TrendForce, the bill of materials (BOM) for the upcoming iPhone 18 series has climbed significantly, driven primarily by an unprecedented surge in memory prices.

TrendForce estimates that by the third quarter of 2026, memory module costs for a 256GB Pro model will be nearly 400% higher than they were during the same period a year earlier. While Apple continues to negotiate price cuts across other hardware components to balance its supply chain expenses, analysts indicate those savings will not be enough to offset the memory price spike.

As a result, retail prices for the iPhone 18 series are projected to rise by 10% to 20%. Rather than passing the full burden of production costs directly onto consumers, Apple is expected to adopt a moderate pricing strategy, absorbing a portion of the price hike to protect its global market share amidst cautious consumer spending.

To help protect gross margins, Apple is expected to rely more heavily on high-margin software revenues, including Apple Intelligence cloud features and ecosystem subscriptions.

Alongside pricing shifts, TrendForce reports that Apple plans to adjust its traditional hardware rollout cadence starting in late 2026. The tech giant is expected to split its flagship smartphone cycle into two distinct seasonal windows.

The fall 2026 release slate will focus exclusively on premium hardware: the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the highly anticipated “iPhone 18 Fold”, marking Apple’s entry into the foldable form factor. Meanwhile, the base-model iPhone 18 and standard variants are scheduled to debut later in the first quarter of 2027.

All three fall flagship models are slated to adopt TSMC’s cutting-edge 2nm process node for the A20 Pro system-on-chip, offering higher computing power for on-device AI tasks alongside improved energy efficiency.