Abstract:
Less than a week before Apple released the new generation iPhone 18 Pro series, research organization TrendForce has estimated the price of the new phone based on the current hardware cost environment. The agency predicts that the starting price of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max may increase by about 10% to 20% compared with the previous generation.
According to TrendForce’s forecast, the current starting price of iPhone 17 Pro is US$1,099, and the starting price of iPhone 18 Pro may be US$1,249 to US$1,299, an increase of US$150 to US$200. The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at US$1,199, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max may reach US$1,349 to US$1,399, also rising by US$150 to US$200.
TrendForce estimated in June this year that the price of the new Pro series would increase by approximately 14% to 18%. This forecast is within its latest range of 10% to 20%, and is more in line with Apple's usual pricing approach. From this point of view, the starting price of iPhone 18 Pro may be raised to US$1,249 to US$1,299, and that of iPhone 18 Pro Max may be raised to US$1,349 to US$1,399.
At the same time, TrendForce predicts that Apple’s first foldable screen iPhone, also known as the rumored “iPhone Ultra”, may have a starting price between US$2,099 and US$2,299, and the highest storage capacity version may even cost more than US$3,000.
The regular iPhone 18 is not expected to be released until the spring of 2027. However, TrendForce believes that the machine may also face a price increase of 10% to 20%.
The main factor driving the price increase is the cost of memory. TrendForce said that the price of 256GB memory chips has increased by nearly 400% year-on-year. Another analysis by the agency showed that the overall bill of materials cost of the 256GB Pro model increased by approximately 38% year-on-year. However, Apple is expected to absorb part of the cost increase by compressing profit margins, rather than passing the entire cost increase to consumers.
Last year, Apple successfully avoided raising the price of iPhone 17 Pro Max and only slightly increased the starting price of iPhone 17 Pro in the US market by US$100 year-on-year. But this year, artificial intelligence infrastructure construction continues to expand, causing memory costs to rise further and putting greater pressure on the entire electronic product industry. In the short term, this cost trend still seems difficult to significantly alleviate.
Apple will hold a "Surprise and Shine" special event on Wednesday, September 9, when the final price of the iPhone 18 Pro series will be officially announced.
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