A new market intelligence report released on September 3, 2026 indicates that Apple is expected to pay four times more money for the memory of the iPhone 18 Pro compared to the model launched the previous year.

TrendForce consultancy states that Apple does not intend to fully pass on the increase to consumers, increasingly seeking to balance the high costs of manufacturing hardware with revenue from its services.

Apple had already announced considerable price adjustments for most of its products in June, declaring at the time that it had exhausted all possibilities to postpone the measure.

At that time, the company chose not to change the prices of existing iPhones, but this situation should change next week. TrendForce indicated a drastic increase in memory costs for new devices.

For the 256GB Pro version, memory expenditures in the third quarter of 2026 are predicted to be almost 400% higher than those recorded a year earlier. Despite Apple’s efforts to negotiate lower prices for other components, the savings achieved are unlikely to offset the pressure on the total cost of materials (BOM). An adjustment in retail prices seems increasingly certain as long as hardware costs remain high.

The expectation is that Apple will not transfer the entire increase in memory costs to the final values ​​of the iPhones. Current projections point to an increase of around US$100 compared to the iPhone 17 Pro.

This decision is justified because substantial price increases can lead even the most dedicated Apple fans to postpone exchanging their devices. TrendForce notes that Apple does not want to compromise its continued growth, in addition to considering an unfavorable macroeconomic scenario that encourages more cautious consumer behavior.

The company also predicts that the iPhone Ultra, Apple’s first foldable model, could have a starting price of up to US$2,299, with the most advanced configurations exceeding US$3,000.