The memory chip inside next year’s iPhone could cost Apple nearly four times what it paid last year, driving the projected starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro up to $1,399.
This $300 bump over the 2025 model stems from a global supply shift entirely outside of Apple’s control.
Samsung and Micron are redirecting memory chip production toward AI server farms, which pay premium rates for high-performance DRAM and flash storage.
Because consumer devices sit lower in the priority queue, tightening supply is driving up component prices ahead of Apple’s typical September launch window.
Research firm TechInsights quantified this dynamic. Apple paid roughly $39 for the 12GB of DRAM inside the iPhone 17 Pro, but that same chip is projected to cost $145 for the iPhone 18 Pro.
Similarly, the 256GB storage tier is expected to climb from $13 to $51. These two components alone add over $130 to the raw manufacturing cost of each device.
TechInsights estimates Apple’s base manufacturing cost for the iPhone 17 Pro, excluding memory, at around $530. Including memory brought that total to $582.
Factoring in the upcoming memory price increases pushes the iPhone 18 Pro’s bill of materials to roughly $726, a 25% increase before accounting for any other new features.
Additional hardware upgrades compound the issue. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the iPhone 18 Pro’s new variable aperture lens system costs Apple about 50% more than the current camera hardware.
Incorporating this added expense into pricing models led The Wall Street Journal to project a $1,399 retail price.
Apple currently maintains roughly a 47% gross margin on the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro. To preserve that exact margin against rising material costs, the iPhone 18 Pro would need to retail for around $1,371.
Because Apple prefers clean pricing tiers, a $1,299 retail price would drop the gross margin to 44%, while absorbing the new camera costs pushes the estimated ceiling to $1,399.
Tim Cook confirmed this week that price increases are coming across Apple’s product lineup, though he declined to specify which devices or exact amounts. Cook noted that Apple is still finalizing details ahead of the fall launch.
A higher base price for the Pro model resets the baseline for the rest of the lineup. The iPhone 18 Pro Max traditionally commands a $100 premium, meaning a $1,399 Pro model positions the Pro Max at $1,499.
Furthermore, a rumored foldable iPhone Ultra is expected to debut near $2,000, pushing the entire premium tier into an unprecedented price bracket.
