Apple may have done the impossible to keep the iPhone 18 Pro prices as low as possible

With the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max coming in mere weeks, one of the most pressing questions that still doesn’t have an answer is how much more they’ll cost than the iPhone 17 Pro. Apple has already said there will be price adjustments, but it may have achieved an important win to minimize the increase.

iPhone 18 Pro will use much cheaper displays than last year’s models

Last month, we reported that Apple was pushing its OLED display panel suppliers to significantly lower their prices, and it appears it managed to achieve it. According to industry sources cited (translated source) by South Korea’s DealSite, the company has secured a significant discount on the iPhone 18 Pro displays compared to last year.

Apple reportedly will pay its suppliers about $68 per OLED display panel used on the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max. That’s almost half the price the company paid for the iPhone 17 Pro Max displays, which was reportedly between $110 and $120 for each panel. 

Another industry report also claimed that Apple has started stockpiling OLED panels and has switched to a six-week supply buffer, compared to its usual four-week window. All iPhone 18 Pro displays are expected to come from LG Display and Samsung Display.

Will this make the iPhone 18 Pro any cheaper?

Apple has apparently gone to great lengths to get lower display prices from its suppliers. The company has reportedly pushed very aggressively in an attempt to compensate for the skyrocketing memory chip prices, which are pushing the production cost of devices like the iPhone. 

Even with this much lower display price, it is highly unlikely for Apple to fully offset the rising costs of RAM and chip production. That’s why the new Pro models are expected to arrive with a significant price increase. Different forecasts put the hike anywhere between $50 and $400, though the most likely rise will be between $200 and $300.

This could still feel like a steep increase, especially compared to the $100 price increase of the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL. However, Google also downgraded the entry versions of its Pro phones from 16GB of RAM to only 12GB, enforcing a more expensive storage option for anyone who wants last year’s amount of RAM on board.

Is the iPhone 18 Pro getting a worse display than the iPhone 17 Pro?

Despite the lower cost, the display of the new Pro iPhones won’t offer lower quality. In fact, Apple managed to force LG Display and Samsung Display to both lower their prices despite growing production complexity and the higher cost.

Multiple rumors have claimed that the iPhone 18 Pro models will utilize a new type of display technology, called LTPO Plus. Similar to the current LTPO panels, the new type of displays will offer variable refresh rates, but also higher speeds and more efficient use of battery power. 

While that may not lead to dramatic image quality improvements, the new technology could help the iPhone 18 Pro get even better battery life. According to recent rumors, both new models will come with bigger batteries, but the boost will be especially impressive for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. The bigger model’s battery capacity will grow by 9% on the eSIM version and a staggering 12% on the international version.

This could end up as some real Apple magic

I would rather not jump to any conclusions, but there could be a marginal chance that Apple has pressured more of its suppliers to lower their prices, which could lead to lower price increases than the worst forecasts. I would prefer not to pay even a cent more than last year, but compared to the potential $300 or $400 hikes we’re hearing about, a $100 bump can feel like a great deal.

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