Apple to Launch 5 New iPhone Models, Prepare 10 Million Foldables, Grab Share Amid Storage Shortage

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on July 2, Nikkei Asia reported that Apple ( AAPL) plans to launch at least five new iPhone models between the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027, marking the company's most aggressive product release pace in recent years. Against the backdrop of persistent global smartphone component shortages, Apple is attempting to expand its market share by leveraging stronger control over its supply chain.

People familiar with the matter revealed that Apple has asked suppliers to prepare for the production of approximately 10 million foldable iPhones this year, a figure significantly higher than the previous forecast of about 7 million to 8 million units a few months ago. The first foldable model is rumored to be named "iPhone Ultra" and is expected to debut in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. According to forecasts by market research firm IDC, the average selling price of this model will be around $2,500, with high-end versions potentially reaching up to $3,000.

Apple has secured enough components in advance for new models to be launched in the second half of 2026 to produce 80 million phones. Some suppliers have received preparation forecasts of up to 85 million units. Factoring in existing models, Apple's total iPhone production for the full year of 2026 is expected to far exceed 220 million units.

The immediate catalyst for Apple's intensive new product rollout is the memory chip shortage sweeping across the entire consumer electronics industry. Since 2025, the global boom in AI data center construction has continued to absorb upstream capacity, with AI servers' demand for DRAM, especially HBM, growing exponentially. Memory manufacturers Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron ( MU) have generally tilted their capacity toward data center customers. The consumer electronics sector has been forced to take a back seat, and the gap between supply and demand has widened rapidly.

The downstream result is skyrocketing costs. A teardown analysis by third-party firm TechInsights shows that the procurement cost of the 12GB DRAM for the iPhone 18 Pro has surged from $39 in the previous generation to $145, while the NAND flash memory cost has increased from $13 to $51. The costs of these two core memory components have risen nearly threefold.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged the challenges facing memory chip supply and costs. The company further raised the prices of MacBooks and iPads in June, while the iPhone 17 series has not yet been adjusted. However, several industry executives told Nikkei Asia that suppliers are prepared for potential adjustments to production plans based on market reaction and whether Apple raises prices for new iPhones due to surging memory costs.

Compared with most of its competitors, Apple possesses stronger bargaining power when procuring memory chips and other components. Sources said that Apple has even requested suppliers to reserve some components that can be shared between the iPhone 17 series and the high-end iPhone 18 series, in order to lock in capacity in advance amid persistent supply constraints.

However, even Apple has not been completely spared. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, pointed out that the tight global memory supply-demand situation will persist until 2027. Affected by the shortage of LPDDR memory supply, the actual preparation scale of supporting memory for Apple's A20 chip from the second half of 2026 to the first quarter of 2027 may shrink by 10% to 20% compared to the original procurement target.

To alleviate supply pressures, according to previous media reports, Apple is in talks with two Chinese memory chipmakers, ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, to procure their memory chips for devices sold in the Chinese market. However, both companies have been placed on the "Entity List" by the U.S. Department of Defense, and Apple CEO Cook has lobbied Trump administration officials regarding this matter. Negotiations are currently ongoing, and no final agreement has been reached.

There is also uncertainty surrounding the production timeline of the foldable iPhone. Three people familiar with the matter revealed that Apple and its suppliers have made progress in resolving hinge engineering issues, increasing the likelihood of small-batch shipments following the autumn release. However, because the manufacturing process and yield rates for foldable devices still need to ramp up, mass production may not begin until around the end of the year.

Multiple sources stated that Apple hopes to strengthen its positioning across different price segments through this intensive rollout, capturing more market share from competitors such as Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo.

An executive who supplies both Apple and Xiaomi told Nikkei Asia: "Compared to Apple's bargaining power, Chinese smartphone makers are in a weaker position to secure more memory chip supply or absorb price increases. This gives Apple a strong incentive to launch new iPhones in the spring to grab more market share."