If there’s one thing that you can safely bet on, it’s that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be more expensive than their predecessors. The two phones are launching next month, alongside the foldable iPhone Ultra, and one of the few things we still don’t know about them is how big the price hike will be. It turns out, things may not be that bad after all.
iPhone 18 Pro may come with a surprisingly modest price increase
Apple is preparing to increase the iPhone prices, but its strategy may be affected by Samsung's and Google’s increases. Apple insider Mark Gurman says in a recent report that the folks in Cupertino have been following their competitors closely.
Both the Galaxy S26 phones and the Pixel 11 series saw increases of about $100, which is lower than the most pessimistic forecasts about the iPhone 18 Pro price. If Apple follows Samsung and Google, the upcoming flagship could have a starting price of $1,199, or about a 9% increase over the iPhone 17 Pro’s $1,099 price.
The iPhone 18 Pro will launch alongside the iPhone Ultra. | Image by TechDroider on X
We already saw Apple bumping the prices of almost all of its major product categories, with the iPhone being among the few spared devices. Looking at those increases reveals a very different story. The average price hike among iPads and Macs was about 23%.
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If the iPhone 18 Pro follows the same pattern, its price could reach about $1,350, which would be a $250 increase. That would be in line with the bumps on products like the MacBook Air and iPad Air, which went up $200 and $150, respectively.
However, Samsung's and Google’s increases could be Apple’s reason to opt for what Gurman calls “a fairly modest bump” and absorb some of the added production cost. This would help the company avoid the “sticker shock” and remain in the same pricing territory as its competitors. Such a move also tracks with the company’s previous warnings to investors that its gross margins will be under pressure in the fourth quarter of the year.
Why is an increase even necessary?
Just like the rest of the tech industry, Apple is facing the consequences of the so-called RAMmageddon, which is pushing memory prices to unprecedented heights. A recent price analysis by Tom’s Hardware showed that DDR5 memory kit prices increased up to 500% in the past 12 months, but we may have not seen the full extent of the crisis yet.
What would be a fair price for the iPhone 18 Pro?
A Deloitte report notes that AI server DRAM prices have doubled during the first quarter of 2026, but the expected increase over the full year is fourfold. The crunch isn’t ending anytime soon, as the increased supply capacity is not expected to come online until 2029 or even 2030.
This was the reason for Google to practically decrease the RAM on the Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL, which launched earlier this month. The base versions of both models come with 256GB storage, but only 12GB of RAM, while the Pixel 10 Pro started at 128GB storage and 16GB RAM. Despite the RAM downgrade, Google also increased the price by $100.
Unsurprisingly, most Apple fans online are far from excited about the price increases, but that may not affect sales all that much. While some people on Reddit say they would skip an upgrade this year, many others are carrying years-old models and plan to get a new iPhone and hold it for a long time.
Some Apple fans may skip the iPhone 18 Pro. | Image by Reddit (Screenshot
That’s how the iPhone can dominate the market
I think a $100 price hike could be such a surprise that some people would upgrade just because it’s not as expensive as everyone has feared. If that’s the case, I won’t be surprised if Apple manages to further extend its lead on the smartphone market and cause some trouble for the Galaxy S27 pricing.
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Ilia, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been covering the mobile industry since 2011, with experience at outlets like Forbes Bulgaria. Passionate about smartphones, tablets, and consumer tech, he blends deep industry knowledge with a personal fascination that began with his first Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices. Originally from Bulgaria and now based in Lima, Peru, Ilia balances his tech obsessions with walking his dog, training at the gym, and slowly mastering Spanish.
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