Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro could start at $1,299 or higher — a $200 increase over the current iPhone 17 Pro’s $1,099 price tag — as soaring memory-chip prices driven by AI infrastructure spending squeeze the company’s component costs, according to estimates from research firm TechInsights published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal.
Chief Executive Tim Cook acknowledged the pricing pressure in an interview with the Journal, saying Apple is “still working through that” when asked which devices would see price increases and when.
The projected jump would mark one of the steepest single-generation price increases in the iPhone’s history. The cause, analysts say, lies in a global supply crunch for two types of memory chips — DRAM, used for active memory, and NAND flash storage — that are essential for smartphones and are also in high demand for training and running large language models. Only a few companies, including Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology, supply the market. Data center operators willing to pay a premium for enterprise-scale components have prompted manufacturers to shift production away from consumer-grade chips.
TechInsights director Mike Howard estimated that Apple paid about $39 for the 12 gigabytes of DRAM in the iPhone 17 Pro. For the iPhone 18 Pro, he said the cost could reach $145. For flash storage, Howard estimated Apple paid around $13 for 256 gigabytes in the iPhone 17 Pro, a figure that could climb to $51.
Wayne Lam, service director of wireless components at TechInsights, estimated that, besides DRAM and flash storage, Apple’s cost for iPhone 17 Pro parts and manufacturing is roughly $530. Adding the memory components brings the total cost for a base iPhone 17 Pro to about $582. For the iPhone 18 Pro, Lam estimated the total could rise to $726 — a 25% increase.
Apple does not disclose gross profit margins on individual products. Using TechInsights’ cost estimates, the iPhone 17 Pro’s margin at its $1,099 price was about 47%. To maintain a similar margin on the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple would need to charge $1,371, according to the research firm’s analysis. Because Apple uses standardized pricing tiers, the company would more likely set a starting price of $1,299, yielding a roughly 44% gross profit margin.
An additional cost pressure comes from a potential new camera system, which supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said will cost Apple about 50% more than previous camera modules. If that cost is included, Apple could set the starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,399 — or higher, the TechInsights analysis suggests.
The next iPhone is expected to be announced in September. Cook’s comments and the research estimates indicate the company is preparing customers for the possibility that mobile-device inflation, long avoided through component-cost management, may now be unavoidable.