TrendForce says a 400% memory cost spike will push Apple's Pro pricing up

Apple will raise the price of its iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max by 10% to 20% when the phones hit the market on September 9, TrendForce said this week.

That comes after a spike in memory costs that made the chips in the Pro about four times as expensive for Apple as they were a year ago, the first major price increase for the Pro in two years.

A 256GB Pro’s bill of materials is up 38% this year

TrendForce estimates the cost of memory for the 256GB Pro model will be almost 400% higher in the third quarter of 2026 than the same quarter last year. The research says the cheaper prices Apple negotiated on other parts aren’t enough to offset it.

Cryptopolitan reported that J.P. Morgan Global Research expects DRAM prices to rise 400% or more in 2026 as hyperscalers lock in long-term supply deals and manufacturers of consumer devices have to battle for the rest of the supply.

TrendForce expects Apple to absorb part of the cost through thinner margins. The company’s June forecast put the increase at 14% to 18%, before the firm’s current estimate settled on 10% to 20%.

TrendForce also separately estimated that 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 launch headliner is the iPhone 18 Fold, Apple’s first foldable phone, tentatively named, and it could carry the “iPhone Ultra” branding at launch.

TrendForce expects it to start at about $2,099-$2,299, with the highest-end storage model possibly exceeding the $3,000 price point. The company views that price as a reference point for future generations of foldables.

It estimates foldables will make up only about 2% of the global smartphone market in 2026 and mentioned limited early production and inventory for the new model.

The standard iPhone 18 won’t be available until Q1 2027, but TrendForce expects the same 10% to 20% jump to hit the phone as well.

Rising hardware costs are squeezing Apple into the fatter margin parts of its business. Apple will look to protect its overall profitability, and Apple Intelligence cloud services and software subscriptions will contribute more to earnings, TrendForce said.

Earlier in 2026, Apple increased the prices of iPads and MacBooks, citing memory and storage costs it said it could no longer absorb.

The company is reportedly looking into buying DRAM from ChangXin Memory Technologies in China to expand a supply chain dominated by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, Cryptopolitan reported earlier.

Amazon raised the Echo Dot from $49.99 to $79.99, a 60% hike it blamed on memory-component costs.

Apple will announce the real pricing at its “Surprise and Shine” event on Wednesday, September 9.

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