Apple's iPhone 18 Pro lineup and its first foldable iPhone will launch at higher prices than originally predicted this September, according to several known Chinese leakers.
The leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital" said on Weibo that while Apple's current iPhone models haven't seen a price increase, the iPhone 18 Pro models launching this fall "will definitely see a price hike," adding that the foldable iPhone in particular could be priced 10% to 20% higher than previously expected.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that the foldable iPhone is expected to "cross the $2,000 threshold" in the U.S., which would make it the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold, surpassing even the $1,999 iPhone 17 Pro Max in its 2TB configuration. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes pricing will not be below $2,000, and could even exceed $2,500. Other projections have also fallen within that range. Given that spread of existing estimates, the new Weibo claims about a further 10% to 20% price increase would push even the lowest of those projections well past the $2,099 mark, and could put a higher storage configuration of the device beyond $3,000.
"Digital Chat Station" said it is "highly unlikely" that the iPhone 18 Pro series avoids a price increase altogether. The leaker pointed to the iPhone 17 Pro's 8,999 yuan starting price in China and suggested Apple could push the 18 Pro to a 9,999 yuan starting price to protect its margins, which would put the entire September lineup, including the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the foldable iPhone, at 10,000 yuan or more. That would amount to an increase of roughly 11% over the iPhone 17 Pro's Chinese price. Apple has historically kept its Chinese and U.S. starting prices roughly proportional across recent iPhone generations, so an 11% increase applied to the iPhone 17 Pro's $1,099 U.S. starting price would put the iPhone 18 Pro at around $1,220.
The leaker known as "Instant Digital" floated an even steeper number, suggesting the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro Max could start at 10,999 or even 11,499 yuan, calling that an expensive price point for what is a non-foldable phone. At that level, the iPhone 18 Pro Max would be priced roughly 15% to 20% above the current iPhone 17 Pro Max's 9,999 yuan starting price in China, a jump that, if mirrored in the U.S., could put the 256GB model's starting price somewhere in the $1,300 to $1,400 range, up from $1,199 today.
These leaker estimates echo a wave of recent reporting on the rising cost of building the iPhone 18 Pro. Research firm TechInsights estimates that Apple paid around $39 for the 12GB of DRAM in the iPhone 17 Pro, a figure that could climb to $145 in the iPhone 18 Pro, pushing the device's total bill of materials up by roughly 25%. Based on similar cost projections, Apple would need to charge around $1,369 for the iPhone 18 Pro to preserve its current profit margin on the iPhone 17 Pro. Once a pricier new camera system is factored in, The Wall Street Journal estimates a starting price of $1,399 or higher.
The latest rumors follow Apple's decision to raise prices on most of its devices this week, with the exception of the iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed last week that the increases were unavoidable, citing the soaring cost of memory and storage chips as a "hundred year flood." Apple has historically absorbed component cost swings rather than passing them on to customers, making this round of increases a notable shift in approach.
