Apple's plan to escape the iPhone 18 Pro price hike apparently just got sabotaged

Apple's attempt to bring Chinese memory maker CXMT into its supply chain won't save the iPhone 18 Pro from a price hike, we reported earlier this week. The A20 Pro's new WMCM packaging locks the Pro line into Samsung and SK Hynix for now, even as Apple races to diversify its supply chain.

What's keeping CXMT out of the iPhone 18 Pro

The block affecting this isn't a political one, and neither is it about trust. It comes down to packaging.

The A20 Pro is moving to Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module packaging, or WMCM, which shifts the DRAM from sitting on top of the processor to sitting beside it. It's the first time Apple has made this kind of change, and it requires months of tight coordination between whoever supplies the memory and Apple's own chipset team.

Samsung and SK Hynix have had years of that coordination already. CXMT is still new to the relationship and mostly testing chips for devices sold in China, so there isn't enough runway left before the iPhone 18 Pro ships this September for its memory to clear validation.

That testing is part of a bigger move, too. Apple currently splits its memory orders between Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, and it's reportedly been lobbying to add CXMT and fellow Chinese supplier YMTC as a fourth and fifth option, mostly to guarantee it actually has enough chips to hit its shipment targets.

Why this locks in the price hike, and why Galaxy buyers shouldn't get comfortable either

For Pro buyers, this closes the door on the one scenario that could've kept prices in check. We broke down what a potential price hike could mean for every storage tier, and estimates already pointed to a starting price as high as $1,399, a number that gets even harder to avoid once a cheaper memory supplier is off the table.

This isn't a problem unique to Apple, though, so if you're eyeing a Galaxy S26 Ultra instead, don't assume you're dodging it. Samsung already raised prices across its higher storage tiers earlier this year for the same underlying reason. Memory that used to go into phones is increasingly getting pulled toward AI data centers instead, and demand there pays better.

Who might catch a break here

The standard iPhone 18 is a different story. It isn't arriving until spring 2027, which gives CXMT roughly a year of extra runway to get its chips validated, and Apple has reportedly been testing that exact path. We've already covered the broader push to bring CXMT into Apple's supply chain, and the base models remain the most likely place it shows up first, especially since they're expected to stick with the older PoP packaging the Pro line is leaving behind.

So if you've been holding out hope that Chinese memory means a friendlier price tag, that hope is more likely to pay off next spring than this September.

Worth remembering, too: Apple held the iPhone 17 Pro's starting price steady last year despite the same memory pressure building in the background. With WMCM taking the CXMT option off the table entirely for this generation, repeating that restraint looks a lot harder.

Don't expect this supplier shuffle to save you money

Apple diversifying its memory suppliers looks, on the surface, like it should be good news for buyers, but that's not quite how it plays out. The push toward CXMT and YMTC is about Apple securing enough memory to hit its shipment targets while AI data centers eat up a growing share of global DRAM production, not about handing anyone a discount.

We've made the case before that Chinese-made memory raises its own questions, but even setting that aside, the iPhone 18 Pro's price was always going to climb this year. This packaging shift just confirms it.

I'd rather Apple be upfront about that tradeoff than dress it up as a win for buyers. The standard iPhone 18 might genuinely benefit from this shuffle down the line, but the Pro models are along for the price hike regardless of what happens with CXMT.

• Check out the iPhone 18 Pro Max's rumored specs
• See why the Pixel 11 might dodge the same memory hike
• Browse our picks for the best iPhone you can buy right now
• Follow me, @jojothetechie on X and Threads, for more hot takes like this one

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