I saw how much memory is going to cost Apple for future iPhones, it’s scary

The current memory crisis — shortages as well as price hikes — doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of going away anytime soon. A new analysis paints a scary picture, Apple is going to be shelling out way too much in manufacturing costs for future iPhone models just to keep the amount of memory the same.

The current memory crisis is awful

Due to new AI data centers exceeding demand for memory in droves, there is currently a massive shortage. Prices have been jacked up sky-high, and manufacturers who can afford the new costs are buying up all of the stock that they can without much negotiation.

Analysts claim that this crisis — which has already led to price hikes for smartphones across the globe — might even bankrupt smaller companies.

iPhone manufacturing costs for memory

According to an analysis cited in a report (subscription required), the cost of memory in an iPhone could account for almost 45 percent of the entire phone’s value in 2027.

That is ridiculously high. Especially when you consider the fact that, historically, memory has barely accounted for around 10-15 percent of a smartphone’s manufacturing costs.

Almost half of your next iPhone’s value could be tied up in just its memory components.

So…price hikes incoming?

Does this all mean that the iPhone 18 Pro and the base iPhone 18, alongside the iPhone Air 2 and the iPhone 18e are going to cost a lot more than you might be expecting? Not necessarily.

The report mentions a fascinating prediction that was separately made about Apple a few days before too. Apple might absorb costs instead of passing them on to the customers.

By giving up short-term gain, the company can capture a lot more market share around the world because of its competitors struggling to stay afloat. After all, there’s a reason that Apple has been buying memory in bulk at insane prices with zero negotiation recently.

It is terrifying to think about

This entire ordeal has shown us just how quickly the fragile global economy can come crashing down, and it’s far from the only such incident in recent memory.

Optimistic analysis reports claim that the memory crisis will start reverting to the previous normal during 2027. I hope they’re right, because I don’t particularly care for price tags displaying higher and higher numbers every few months.

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