The price hike could be even bigger than we thought. A new report from Counterpoint Research released today indicates that the iPhone 18 Pro models could be way more expensive than we previously expected.
"A price increase on the new iPhones is inevitable," the report ominously begins. Though it notes that the question is whether or not Apple will eat some of the costs or pass higher prices along to customers.
For comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max reportedly costs Apple around $500 to build. The BoM for the iPhone 18 Pro Max could cost closer to $1,000.
Like every other price increase in the last year, any bump for the iPhone is thanks to increased component costs. The largest culprit is the ongoing memory shortage due to the AI boom.
If Apple were to hold costs as is, we could see price increases between $250 and $350 for the next iPhone. That's massive.
Counterpoint estimates that bill of materials (BoM) for the iPhone 18 Pro Max in the 12GB and 1TB configuration is increasing by $300, compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the same form. Lower storage capacities options and the Pro models could see between $200 and $250 increases.
If Apple were to hold costs as is, we could see price increases between $250 and $350 for the next iPhone. That's a massive.
Sticking with the 1TB Pro Max, the current iPhone 17 model costs $1,599. This means the iPhone 18 Pro Max could cost between $1,849 and $1949.
Per Counterpoint, the question is whether or not Apple wants to protect its "gross margins" compared to previous generations.
Apple has options
There is some good news; Apple could reduce a potential price hike with several different tactics.
The company is pretty aggressive when it comes to negotiating component pricing, even when the company has to "reluctantly" raise prices. Apple will likely renegotiate pricing on non-memory components.
As an example, MacRumors reported today that Apple has secured lower prices for the OLED displays on the iPhone 18 Pro models. The potential price only went down by $10 from $120 to $110, but every little bit counts.
Additionally, Apple has rolled out the new Apple Upgrade program, which enables users to lease iPhones and other Apple devices. This results in a lower monthly fee and allows you to upgrade at the end of your lease.
Counterpoint suggests that Apple will likely institute tiered pricing for the iPhone 18 series, with the lower-tier storage models getting smaller price bumps. Meanwhile, the higher storage variants, which Counterpoint says are more popular among its "affluent and mature user base" could see higher prices.
Again, it all depends on if Apple is trying to protect its gross margins or not. If it is, then we'll see simpler, flatter increases across the board. If not, then variable pricing across the different storage capacities could give Apple more flexibility.
We'll know more when Apple launches the series this coming September. For more, see our Apple September event preview.
