Apple will raise prices on its iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max by 10% to 20% when the devices launch on September 9, according to TrendForce. The increase follows a surge in memory costs that has made the chips in the Pro models roughly four times as expensive for Apple as they were a year ago, marking the first major Pro-line price increase in two years.

256GB Pro bill of materials up 38% this year

TrendForce estimates that memory costs for the 256GB Pro model will be nearly 400% higher in the third quarter of 2026 than in the same quarter a year earlier. The research firm notes that the lower prices Apple negotiated on other components are not enough to offset the increase.

As Cryptopolitan previously reported, J.P. Morgan Global Research expects DRAM prices to climb 400% or more in 2026 as hyperscalers lock in long-term supply deals, leaving consumer device manufacturers to compete for the remaining supply. The squeeze stems in large part from AI data center buildouts, which have pulled memory makers' capacity toward high-bandwidth memory and server-grade DRAM at the expense of conventional chips used in phones and PCs.

TrendForce expects Apple to absorb part of the cost through thinner margins. The firm's June forecast placed the increase at 14% to 18%, before its current estimate settled at 10% to 20%. Separately, TrendForce estimates the total bill of materials for a 256GB Pro is about 38% higher year on year.

iPhone 18 Fold could start above $2,099 and top $3,000

The headline launch is the iPhone 18 Fold, Apple's first foldable phone — a tentative name — which may carry "iPhone Ultra" branding at launch. TrendForce expects it to start at roughly $2,099–$2,299, with the highest-end storage model possibly exceeding $3,000. The firm views that pricing as a reference point for future generations of foldables.

TrendForce estimates foldables will account for only about 2% of the global smartphone market in 2026, and it cited limited early production and inventory for the new model. Samsung has led the category since its first Galaxy Fold shipped in 2019, and Apple's entry — at a substantially higher starting price — will test how much consumers will pay for a foldable from a first-time entrant.

The standard iPhone 18 will not be available until Q1 2027, but TrendForce expects the same 10% to 20% price jump to apply to that model as well.

Rising hardware costs are pushing Apple toward the higher-margin segments of its business. TrendForce said Apple will look to protect overall profitability, with Apple Intelligence cloud services and software subscriptions contributing more to earnings.

Earlier in 2026, Apple raised prices on iPads and MacBooks, citing memory and storage costs it said it could no longer absorb. The company is also reportedly exploring DRAM purchases from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies to diversify a supply chain dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, as Cryptopolitan previously reported — a trio that together supplies the vast majority of the world's DRAM.

Elsewhere in the industry, Amazon raised the Echo Dot from $49.99 to $79.99 — a 60% increase it attributed to memory-component costs, a sign the pricing pressure extends across product categories beyond smartphones.

Apple will confirm official pricing at its "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9. Watch for whether the official Pro-line increases land within TrendForce's 10% to 20% range and what the foldable's final price signals for future generations.