Apple Faces 400% Spike in RAM Costs Ahead of iPhone 18 Pro Launch
Apple’s next event is just around the corner. The company will hold an event on September 9, dubbed “Surprise and Shine,” where the iPhone 18 Pro series and the rumoured iPhone Fold are expected to be unveiled. While Apple is likely to introduce significant improvements to the iPhone 18 Pro, the company is reportedly facing higher RAM costs due to the ongoing memory crisis, or “RAMpocalypse.”
According to a new market report from TrendForce, Apple will pay significantly higher prices for iPhone 18 Pro RAM compared to iPhone 17 Pro models. “For the 256GB Pro model, memory costs in the third quarter of 2026 are expected to be nearly 400% higher than a year earlier,” the report notes.
iPhone 18 Pro Price Hike Could Be Inevitable
The electronics industry is facing a memory crisis. This is mainly because AI data centres are using more memory. The need for RAM and NAND flash is growing fast. At the time the supply of these components was limited. This tight supply has caused prices to go up. Because of this the report says Apple might have to increase the prices of the iPhone 18 Pro models. Even though Apple is trying to reduce costs in areas the rising memory costs could still push prices higher.
Despite Apple’s attempts to get prices for other parts, those savings probably won’t make up for the overall increase in Bill of Materials (BOM) costs, the report says. A rise in prices looks more and more certain as long as hardware costs stay high. Apple has already increased prices for MacBooks and iPads among products in India and worldwide—some of those increases went up as much as 100,000 rupees. However, the company hasn’t increased iPhone prices. This year Apple CEO and current Executive Chairman Tim Cook talked about the memory shortage. “It’s an in-a-hundred-year flood ” he said to a famous publication. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any sector in over 40 years.” Projected Price of the iPhone 18 Pro
Apple is unlikely to pass the cost increase on to consumers. Apple users see reports that the US price of the iPhone 18 Pro might rise by about $100, which’s about 9,500 rupees compared to the iPhone 17 Pro.
An independent estimate by TrendForce puts the price of the iPhone 18 Pro between $1,249 (about 118,000 rupees) and $1,299 (about 122,000 rupees) which is higher than the $1,099 (about 103,000 rupees) price of the iPhone 17 Pro. A similar price rise is also expected for the iPhone 18 Pro Max compared with the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s predecessor.
Even though there is no information about a price hike for the Indian market if the reports are accurate the price hike could be similar. For reference the starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro in India is ₹134,900 whereas the starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is ₹149,900.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone might start at a price between $2,099 and $2,299, in the United States, which is roughly ₹198,000 to ₹217,000.
We will have to wait until September 9 to finally learn the actual prices of the next-generation iPhone. You can watch the live stream of the “Surprise and Shine” event on Apple’s website and official YouTube channel starting at 10:30 PM (Indian Standard Time).