iPhone 18 Pro Risks Becoming One of Apple’s Most Expensive Smartphones Ever

Following Tim Cook’s statement that Apple hardware is bound to get more expensive, analysts and research firms have published their first estimates for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro – and the numbers are notably higher than today’s prices.

The main driver behind the revision is the sharp surge in memory costs. According to TechInsights, even before the shortage Apple was paying about $39 for a 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM chip and roughly $13 for a 256 GB NAND flash module. Now those same components come in at $145 and $51 respectively – that’s a 272 % and 292 % increase. Under these conditions, keeping the current retail price without eating into margins is simply not possible. Based on TechInsights’ calculations, the bill of materials for the base iPhone 18 Pro could climb to $726. For comparison, the current iPhone 17 Pro had a BOM of about $582, and that model retails for $1,099. To maintain the same profit margin, Apple would have to bump the price to roughly $1,371.

This new price jump would represent a $300–$400 increase over its predecessors, putting the phone in the same ballpark as many laptops. An additional factor could be the new camera with a dynamic aperture – preliminary estimates suggest that feature alone might add another $100 to the retail cost.

Against this backdrop, possible ways to soften the pricing blow are being discussed. The base iPhone 18 (non‑Pro) is expected to also get 12 GB of RAM to fully support Siri’s AI features, but to keep the price in check it will reportedly use an older‑generation OLED panel. Apple might also keep the iPhone 17 in the lineup to offer buyers a more affordable option.

Official figures from Apple are still missing, but Tim Cook has already called the memory pricing situation an unavoidable factor that will affect device costs. All the estimates above are analysts’ best attempt at translating manufacturing costs into retail prices.

Would you upgrade your smartphone at these prices – and what’s the absolute ceiling you’d pay for a flagship iPhone? Let us know in the comments.