Apple has managed to use its considerable market heft to aggressively manage the cost of various key components, allowing the base storage variants of the upcoming iPhone 18 lineup to launch at the same price points as their iPhone 17 counterparts, as per a fresh supply chain analysis.
Jeff Pu: Apple’s goal is to keep starting selling prices of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max "unchanged or at a similar level" to those of their iPhone 17 counterparts
TF International Securities analyst, Ming Chi-Kuo, noted towards the end of January that Apple was working round the clock to prevent price hikes for the upcoming iPhone 18 lineup, going so far as to send its executives on long-term hotel stays to set up deals with memory suppliers such as Samsung and SK hynix. According to Kuo, Apple can no longer secure DRAM supplies on a 6-month contract, with the pricing now subject to change every three months instead.
At the time, Kuo had posited that Apple should take advantage of the ongoing DRAM crisis, eat up the extra costs by sacrificing some of its sky-high margins, and try to expand its market share through aggressive pricing.
Now, GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu has conducted a fresh supply chain check, coming away with some of the same conclusions as those drawn by Kuo. Pu asserts that Apple has already implemented a number of cost control measures to prevent a price hike for the iPhone 18 variants.
According to the GF Securities analyst, Apple's goal is to keep the starting selling prices of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max "unchanged or at a similar level" to those of their iPhone 17 counterparts. This means that the iPhone 18 Pro is likely to launch at $1,099 this fall, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max would break the bank at $1,199.
As we've noted repeatedly, Apple is likely to bifurcate the launch of the iPhone 18 lineup, with the Pro and Pro Max models launching this fall, while the volume-heavy base iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e debuting in the spring of 2027. By doing so, Apple hopes to curb the ensuing cost pressures related to the constrained DRAM supply and the pricey 2nm-based A20 chip.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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