Brief Overview
- The iPhone 18 Pro could start at $1,299–$1,399, marking a major price hike over its predecessor.
- The increase is largely driven by AI-fueled DRAM and NAND memory shortages, which have significantly raised Apple’s production costs.
- Read on to learn why Apple’s next Pro iPhone may be significantly more expensive.
If you have been planning to upgrade to the iPhone 18 Pro this September, you may want to brace yourself for this Apple iPhone 18 Pro latest update. The base price of Apple’s next Pro iPhone is expected to jump by as much as $200 (INR 20,000 approx).
The reason has nothing to do with a new design or a feature. It is simply the cost of memory. Here is a breakdown of what is going on around the iPhone 18 Pro price hike news!
Why Is the iPhone 18 Pro Getting More Expensive?
As we all know by now, AI is eating the world’s memory supply. DRAM and NAND flash – the two chips responsible for your phone’s working memory and storage – have become dramatically more expensive in 2026.
The reason is that AI data centers run by companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are consuming memory chips at an extraordinary rate. Training and running large language models requires a specialised type of chip called high-bandwidth memory (HBM). These chip manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have been redirecting their production lines toward it.
However, there’s a slight catch. HBM requires more wafer capacity per usable bit than standard mobile DRAM. So every wafer going into an AI server GPU is a wafer that is not producing memory for smartphones. Supply has tightened, and prices have gone through the roof.
In fact, TrendForce reported that conventional DRAM contract prices jumped roughly 90-95% in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
How Much Has the Memory Cost Gone Up for Apple Products?
This is where the numbers get striking. According to the folks at WSJ, Apple paid around $39 for the 12GB DRAM package inside the iPhone 17 Pro. That same component for the iPhone 18 Pro is now projected to cost Apple $145 . This is a striking 272% increase for the same chip.
Storage costs have taken a hit too. The 256GB NAND flash that cost Apple around $13 per unit for the iPhone 17 Pro is now projected at $51.
And if you put it all together, the total bill of materials for the base iPhone 18 Pro has climbed from around $582 to approximately $726 – a 25% jump in production cost.
So What Could the iPhone 18 Pro Actually Cost?
The iPhone 17 Pro launched at $1,099 (INR 1.05 lakhs) with an estimated profit margin of around 47%. To hold that same margin on the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple would theoretically need to price it at $1,371 (INR 1.32 lakhs).
However, Apple tends to gravitate toward cleaner price points, so the more likely figure being discussed is $1,299 (INR 1.25 lakhs), which would work out to a gross margin of around 44%. That said, some analysts are not ruling out a $1,399 (INR 1.35 lakhs) starting price either.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max price prediction 2026 is expected to be priced $100 above whatever the iPhone 18 Pro lands at.
Has Apple Already Started Raising Prices?
On June 25, 2026, Apple raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineup by $100 to $500 depending on the model. The Mac mini’s $599 entry configuration was discontinued, effectively raising the starting point to $799.
The iPhone was not part of that first wave, but multiple supply chain sources tell major tech publications that it will be 25% jump in production cost. And that is before factoring in the iPhone 18 Pro’s new variable-aperture camera system.
The Side Effects of AI Boom
The iPhone 18 Pro price hike is not a surprise move by Apple. Driven by the AI boom, memory prices have fundamentally changed. After months of bearing the financial pressure, Apple is finally feeling the squeeze.
If the $1,299 (INR 1.25 lakhs) or $1,399 (INR 1.35 lakhs) price comes true on launch, it will mark the first significant jump in iPhone Pro pricing in years. Whether the iPhone 18 Pro cost due to memory price hike changes your upgrade plans or not is entirely up to you.
FAQs
Why could Apple increase the iPhone 18 Pro price?
A global shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory driven by AI data center demand has increased the cost of components Apple uses inside every iPhone.
What will be the iPhone 18 Pro price in India?
Analysts and reports point to iPhone 18 Pro expected price starting price between $1,299 and $1,399, up from $1,099 for the iPhone 17 Pro.
Will the iPhone 18 Pro have more RAM than the iPhone 17 Pro?
Not necessarily. The cost increase is not because Apple is adding more memory, but because the same DRAM package has become more expensive in 2026.
