iPhone 18 Pro may end up with significantly cheaper OLED displays than before

After sparing the iPhone 17 lineup from its recent price increases, Apple appears to be doing its best to stick to the lowest possible prices for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. Its attempt to source cheaper memory has reportedly failed, but now the company seems to be pressuring its display suppliers to offer it record-breaking discounts.

Apple is pressing OLED panel suppliers to cut prices

Apple is pushing its suppliers to significantly lower the prices of the OLED panels that will be used on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. According to a report from Korean outlet The Elec, the company has offered to pay about $70 for panels for the larger model, but the final price may be even lower than that.

Industry estimates suggest that the average price Samsung Display and LG Display get could go as low as $66.50 per panel for the Pro Max model. That would be about 20% cheaper than the price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max OLED panels.

Will the cheaper iPhone 18 Pro displays offer lower quality than before?

Even with the price cut, Apple is expected to get better panels for its new devices. In fact, the new panels will use Samsung Display’s latest and greatest M16 organic material set, which comes with improved luminous efficiency, lifespan, and color performance.

Despite the technological improvements, the prices of the OLED panels have been going down over the last few years. At one point, the panel of the iPhone 16 Pro Max used to cost over $100, but the price went down in the $80 range for the 17 Pro Max. This year’s reduction is steeper than the usual, and it will reach about 20%.

It remains unclear whether this will have any effect on the final price of the new models, though. Earlier estimates have put the potential price hike at anywhere between $50 and over $400. Some of the most persistent rumors claim the iPhone 18 Pro will start at $1,299, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,399, making them $200 more expensive than last year.

Technically speaking, there’s little to be improved with the display of Apple’s best slab smartphone. In his in-depth review of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, my colleague Preslav said its display offered an excellent experience despite the slightly worse measurements compared to the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL’s display.

Why is Apple seeking lower display prices?

Unsurprisingly, Apple’s goal isn’t to just hurt its suppliers. Instead, the company is doing its best to offset the skyrocketing memory costs.

Apple is not alone in its goals, with smartphone manufacturers seeking to absorb part of the memory costs by cutting in other areas. Most often that happens with cheaper displays and camera modules. Display manufacturers say they’re affected by these processes, but they manage the challenges through optimizations and cost innovation.

It’s still a lot of business, with Samsung Display expects to supply 46 million OLED panels for the iPhone 18 lineup this year, while LG will supply another 41 million panels, according to market research firm UBI Research. Samsung Display is likely to produce 26 million iPhone 18 Pro Max, 18 million iPhone 18 Pro, and 2 million standard iPhone 18 panels. LG Display is forecast to add another 21 million 18 Pro Max, 19 million 18 Pro, and 1 million vanilla iPhone 18 panels.

This is unlikely to make the iPhone 18 Pro cheaper

As much as I’d like to have the most affordable prices possible, I don’t believe the $20 Apple may save from sourcing a cheaper OLED panel can offset the brutal increase in memory and chip prices. On the other hand, in the current environment, every dollar matters, so anything that could keep prices lower is worth the shot.

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