If you're planning on purchasing the iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max, you might be worrying about a price hike. Higher prices for processor and memory chips have potential buyers concerned. But GF Securities equity analyst Jeff Pu has good news. Pu issued a research note today that MacRumors was able to read. The analyst wrote that GF Securities conducted "Supply Chain research" that showed a focus on "cost management" on the part of Apple.
Apple is expected to keep iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max prices static year-over-year
Pu says that the bottom line is that Apple will keep the price of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max unchanged from the starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max at $1,099 and $1,199 respectively. That pricing would be for the base 256GB variant of both models. Don't forget that the iPhone 18 won't be introduced until the first quarter of 2027 along with the iPhone 18e, and the iPhone Air 2. This September, the iPhone Fold is expected to accompany the iPhone 18 Pro series as Apple finally enters the foldable market.
Apple CEO Tim Cook celebrates the release of another iPhone version at an Apple Store in New York City. | Image credit-Apple
The GF Securities analyst says that Apple has negotiated with Korean memory chip suppliers Samsung and SK Hynix to get favorable pricing. Pu also expects Apple to weave its magic to get better pricing for display and camera components.
Pu's pricing forecast matches one from another, more well-known, Apple analyst
Pu isn't the only equity analyst who expects the rising memory prices not to affect the pricing of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series. This other analyst still has a great reputation, Ming-Chi Kuo. The latter recently posted a tweet stating that rumored RAM price hikes are close to rumored figures while NAND "Flash" memory price hikes are a little lower than the numbers bandied about in rumors. The memory price increases are due to heavy demand for memory chips from AI data centers.
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Kuo notes that Apple negotiates memory pricing quarterly instead of every six months. As a result, Kuo says that Apple will have to deal with a price hike for Q2 2026 that will be similar to the one that took place during Q1 2026.
Apple has a plan fpr dealing with higher component costs
Kuo says that Apple has a plan for dealing with higher component prices even if it reduces the tech giant's gross margins. The plan is for Apple to buy the chips, eat the additional expense of paying the higher costs and, by not raising prices, gain market share. Kuo says Apple doesn't mind making less money on the iPhone since it will make it back later by generating higher Services sales.
The analyst typed, "Apple’s current plan for 2H26 new iPhone 18 models is to avoid raising prices as much as possible—at least keep the starting price flat, which is helpful for marketing. That Apple is willing to keep prices flat while some components cost more and others are in short supply tells us much about Apple's Services business, which is the company's second largest business segment after the iPhone. Services revenue jumped 13.93% during the fiscal first quarter of 2026 year-over-year to $30.01 billion.
Samsung accidentally reveals the date of its next Unpacked event
The hike in memory prices that are the result of strong demand by AI data centers was forecast by analytical firm IDC to raise smartphone prices by as much as 6% to 8% this year. What makes an industry-wide hike in smartphone prices even more probable was the comments by Samsung co-CEO TM Roh who suggested that prices for the company's products are going to rise. But price hikes by Samsung give Apple a huge incentive to keep its prices steady this year.
We should know fairly soon what to expect price-wise for the Galaxy S26 series. Samsung's own Persian Gulf unit, in the process of announcing a contest, accidentally gave away the February 25th date for its next Unlocked event. That happened to be the rumored date for the event anyway, well before Samsung Gulf's tweet revealed the date of the unveiling of the Galaxy S26 series.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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