A JPMorgan analysis suggests that memory could make up nearly 45 percent of an iPhone’s total component costs by 2027.
Right now, that figure sits at around 10 percent. That’s a dramatic jump in a very short window.
So, who’s actually driving the shortage? Well, the pressure is coming from AI infrastructure buyers, particularly companies like Nvidia, that are outbidding consumer electronics manufacturers for the same limited supply.
Also: Apple’s $2,000 foldable iPhone could be missing 5 beloved features you’d get on a $1,099 iphone
Cloud providers are also stepping in with multi-billion-dollar upfront payments to lock in chip capacity before it even hits the open market.
That kind of spending power is simply out of Apple’s league in terms of raw negotiating leverage.
For years, Apple was one of the largest and most influential buyers of memory chips on the planet, purchasing chips for roughly 250 million iPhones annually.
Suppliers worked around Apple’s timeline, and Apple largely dictated the terms. That dynamic has quietly shifted.
The company now finds itself competing for supply alongside everyone else, which is a genuinely unusual position for a brand of its size and purchasing power.
The ripple effects are already showing up in Apple’s product calendar. The iPhone 18 lineup is expected to arrive in stages rather than all at once.
The Pro models are still planned for a September debut, alongside what’s expected to be Apple’s first foldable iPhone.
The more affordable iPhone 18 model, though, reportedly won’t ship until spring 2027. That’s a significant departure from the predictable annual fall launch cycle that Apple has followed for years.
September will also mark a leadership transition. Hardware engineering chief John Ternus officially takes over as Apple’s CEO on September 1, while Tim Cook moves into a newly created executive chair role.
One of Ternus’s first major calls will be whether Apple absorbs the rising memory costs or passes them along to customers.
