Tim Cookthe still CEO of Appleadmitted this Wednesday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that ‘unfortunately, price increases are inevitable’ in relation to the current shortage and high cost of memory RAM and storage. ‘We are doing everything we can to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed on to us, and we have been trying to protect our customers from such increases, but the situation has become unsustainable‘, he explained, without going into which products and to what extent they would be affected.
Yes, the media itself and the analysis firm TechInsights have tried to put figures to the problem, which have prepared a reasoned estimate of how much the next iPhone 18 Pro could cost in the United States after its launch in Septemberbased on the current increase in memory and storage chip prices.
For starters, the base model of the iPhone 18 Pro is expected to include 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. According to TechInsights estimates, the iPhone 17 Pro’s 12GB of DRAM cost Apple 39 dollars (34 €) last year. However, on the iPhone 18 Pro, the cost of that same amount of DRAM could skyrocket to 145 dollars (126 €). Similarly, the 256 GB of flash memory, which previously cost 13 dollars (11 €)they could now cost about 51 dollars (44 €).
Making a base iPhone 17 Pro reportedly cost Apple about 582 dollars (507 €)but TechInsights estimates that the production cost of the iPhone 18 Pro could rise to 726 dollars (633 €). If Apple wants to maintain the approximate profit margin of the 47% that you get with the iPhone 17 Pro, the base price of the iPhone 18 Pro would have to reach $1,371 (€1,196). After the usual price adjustments, customers could end up paying $1,299 (€1,134) for the base model.
However, the story might not end there. The iPhone 18 Pro is expected to incorporate a variable aperture lenswhich could cost Apple at least 50% more than the current camera system. The estimated price of $1,299 (€1,134) does not include the additional cost of this new photographic hardware. Once that expense is included, the base model could cost at least $1,399 (€1,220).
How much would the iPhone 18 Pro cost in Spain
A price of $1,399 (€1,220) for the base iPhone 18 Pro would represent a significant increase compared to the current starting price of $1,099 of the iPhone 17 Pro. In the case of Spain, if Apple applied a proportional increase, the €1,319 from which the iPhone 17 Pro is based could become some €1,679 for the iPhone 18 Pro, if the possible extra cost of the variable aperture lens is included. It would be a rise of 27.3%.
Without this additional component, the increase would remain at 18.2%with an approximate price of €1,559. If Apple wants to keep its upcoming iPhones competitive, it may have to accept lower profit margins.