The upcoming iPhone 18 series could become Apple’s most expensive iPhone lineup yet. New estimates suggest the iPhone 18 Pro could start at $1,299, with the price potentially climbing to $1,399 depending on its final hardware.
For comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro 256GB started at $1,099 last year, meaning we could potentially be looking at a $200 price increase, or even $300.
This is because Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said, “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable” due to the ongoing memory shortage, which has driven memory costs sharply higher. While Apple has not confirmed new pricing for the iPhone 18 lineup, a report from The Wall Street Journal, citing estimates from research firm TechInsights, provides an early look at how much production costs have increased.
According to TechInsights, the 12GB DRAM used in the iPhone 17 Pro cost Apple around $39 last year. For the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro with 256GB of storage, that same amount of memory is now estimated to cost $145. Storage prices have also increased significantly, with the 256GB chip reportedly rising from $13 to about $51.
These increases have pushed Apple’s estimated manufacturing cost for the base iPhone 18 Pro to $726, compared to around $582 for the base iPhone 17 Pro.
TechInsights estimates that Apple earned a 47% gross profit margin on the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro, which launched at $1,099 in the US. Maintaining that same margin would require Apple to price the iPhone 18 Pro at roughly $1,371. However, after Apple’s typical pricing adjustments, the report estimates the phone could launch at $1,299, resulting in a gross margin of around 44%.
The price could increase even further. Rumors suggest the iPhone 18 Pro will feature a new variable-aperture camera system, which is expected to cost Apple at least 50% more than the current camera hardware. If that proves accurate, the base iPhone 18 Pro could start at around $1,399.
A higher starting price for the Pro model would likely push the iPhone 18 Pro Max to $1,499.
If Apple raises prices globally, buyers in Pakistan are also expected to pay significantly more. Since Apple has no official retail or manufacturing presence in the country, it cannot offer regional pricing or reduce costs through local assembly, meaning international price increases are usually passed on to Pakistani consumers along with import duties and local taxes.
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