Abstract:
According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple will increase the prices of the two high-end models by US$100 each when it releases the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Compared with the market's previous concerns about sharp price increases, this rate is significantly more moderate.
Apple raised the prices of Macs, iPads and home products in June this year due to a global memory shortage, but did not adjust iPhone pricing at that time. As the cost of key components such as memory continues to rise, the iPhone 18 Pro series is widely expected to break this situation and sell at a higher price than the previous generation.
Previously, many institutions gave forecasts well above $100. IDC has predicted that the price increase of the Pro series may reach up to US$200; Haitong International analyst Pu Deyu pointed out that the rising costs of A20 Pro chips, memory and flash memory may push the price of the entire machine up to US$300. TrendForce also previously estimated that the iPhone 18 Pro series may increase in price by US$150 to US$200 based on the nearly 400% year-on-year increase in memory chip prices.
If the final increase is indeed US$100, it means that Apple may choose to absorb more supply chain costs on its own instead of passing all the pressure on to consumers.
To reduce the impact of price increases on users’ willingness to switch, Apple launched the Apple Upgrade program in the United States earlier this year. The rental scheme, powered by Klarna, allows users to pay ongoing monthly payments and switch to the latest model yearly. Gurman also said that operators may also use more aggressive installment policies and trade-in discounts to ease the psychological pressure on consumers when facing new machine pricing.
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