iPhone 18 Pro May Have 'Aggressive' Starting Price Despite RAM Crisis - MacRumors
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iPhone 18 Pro May Have 'Aggressive' Starting Price Despite RAM Crisis

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While the ongoing RAM chip shortage is leading some Android smartphone makers to increase prices, one analyst believes that Apple will take advantage of the situation with the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature
In a research note with GF Securities today, analyst Jeff Pu said he expects Apple to outperform in the smartphone market by having an "aggressive pricing strategy" for the iPhone 18 Pro models. He previously predicted that the starting prices of the iPhone 18 Pro models will be unchanged or only slightly higher compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

In the U.S., the iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 and the iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199, with 256GB of storage. Both devices are equipped with 12GB of RAM, and the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to have an equal amount of RAM.

Apple said that it expects "significantly higher memory costs" in the current March-June quarter, so it is not entirely immune to the problem. However, Apple's scale likely gives it more leverage over RAM suppliers compared to most if not all Android smartphone makers. In addition, Pu previously said that he expected Apple to find ways to lower the costs of some other iPhone components, including the display and cameras.

iPhone 18 Pro models are rumored to feature a smaller Dynamic Island, a faster A20 Pro chip, variable aperture for at least one rear camera, a simplified Camera Control button, 5G via satellite, a special "Dark Cherry" color, and more.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September, while the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e are expected to debut around March 2027.

Related Roundup: iPhone 18 Pro
Tag: Jeff Pu

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Top Rated Comments

Sowelu Avatar
Sowelu
9 weeks ago
'RAM Crisis' = man-made shortage due to greedy, shortsighted and reactive CEO thugs in the tech industry as they compete in a race towards dystopia and who screwed over consumers so that they can build their AI data centers (and personal data harvesting and surveillance infrastructure) that nobody wants. Forgive me, I've not had my coffee yet.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
F
foobarbaz
9 weeks ago
Not raising prices is the aggressive pricing strategy. What a market!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jsavvy Avatar
jsavvy
9 weeks ago
Maybe they should skip the 18 Pro until RAM prices go down. Do we need a new Pro phone every year?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
McWetty Avatar
McWetty
9 weeks ago

Ma ma mia, honestly guys… you don’t need to buy the pro anymore…
Unless they put 3 lenses on the base model, I do. I use my Pro for work and I need wide/standard/tele for the job.

I wouldn’t bother upgrading my 15Pro, but I’m pretty confident the 19Pro and on will be dramatically more expensive.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
X
xpxp2002
9 weeks ago

Maybe they should skip the 18 Pro until RAM prices go down. Do we need a new Pro phone every year?
In a way, yes. Not everybody is on the same upgrade cycle. I can't upgrade until this fall or I'd forfeit credits from my carrier for my current device.

And I certainly don't want to be buying 1-2 year old tech that I'm going to be stuck with for 3 additional years after that. The Qualcomm X75 in the iPhone 17 Pro is already nearly two years old. Somebody buying a 17 Pro in August on a typical 36 month carrier financing agreement will have 5-6 year old cellular baseband tech when their next opportunity to upgrade comes around.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
DocMultimedia
9 weeks ago

Ma ma mia, honestly guys… you don’t need to buy the pro anymore…
You do if you want the best available iPhone camera. You may not be interested, but many people are.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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