60%
Plausible
As much as Apple tries to avoid a price hike for the iPhone 18 series, this event could be inevitable. However, one strategy the company could apply to offer relief to customers is to keep the base models unchanged from last year. Then again, with its rumored agreement with NAND flash maker Kioxia including terms that Apple will pay double the price for storage, it potentially means that the premium could be applied to the higher internal memory variants. Also, paying twice the original amount doesn’t mean that the Cupertino will be immune from future price shifts, because contracts are subject to change every quarter.
The iPhone 17 lineup included up to five DRAM and NAND flash manufacturers, but Apple is still unable to escape the price hike
The rumor comes from @jukan05 on X, with the small post mentioning that the current NAND flash rates are for the January to March quarter, with prices expected to change during the April to June period. However, if there’s one advantage Apple has, it’s the company’s Services division, which rakes in billions, providing the company a healthy financial cushion during tough quarters where hardware sales have declined.
In fact, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple should absorb the price hikes during the market chaos to cement its popularity. He also notes that the Services sector, which brought in $30.013 billion during the company’s record Q1 2026 quarter, can offset the premium cost that Apple must pay for both DRAM and NAND flash across a multitude of products.
Last year, for the iPhone 17 series, Apple managed to stay two steps ahead to maintain a robust supply chain because it had up to five suppliers for DRAM and NAND flash, including Kioxia. To discuss the latest rumor despite having several manufacturers on a company’s list suggests that no company is safe from the ongoing crisis. Also, it’s not like Apple doesn’t want to secure component supply for the entire year, but given the current volatility, contracts will be renegotiated every quarter.
Fortunately, there could be a silver lining in all of this. Chinese memory manufacturers CXMT and YMTC have been removed from the Pentagon’s restricted list, meaning that Apple could explore a partnership with these two companies to secure favorable contracts in the future.
News Source: @jukan05
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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