Apple is reportedly trying hard to keep the price of its upcoming iPhone 18 from going up, even as the tech industry faces a global shortage of memory parts. According to a new report from well-known supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company wants to avoid raising prices “as much as possible,” despite higher costs for key components. Kuo says Apple plans to “absorb the costs” of rising RAM prices instead of passing them on to customers. As a result, the iPhone 18’s starting price may remain the same as the previous model.
To manage the situation more closely, Apple has changed how it works with memory suppliers. Instead of setting RAM prices every six months, the company is now negotiating prices every three months. Kuo expects that Apple will likely face another round of price increases during the next set of talks with suppliers.
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Apple is said to balance the rising hardware costs by leaning more on its services business. This part of Apple’s business includes subscriptions such as Apple Music, iCloud, Apple TV, and other digital services.
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that despite the global memory shortage, the upcoming smartphones are likely to get more RAM. Many high-end models may move from 8GB or 12GB of RAM to up to 16GB. Cheaper phones may also shift away from 4GB setups and instead offer 6GB or 8GB.
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The Apple iPhone 18 is expected to sport a 6.3-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the smartphone is likely to be powered by the A20 chipset. For photography, the iPhone 18 is said to house a dual camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48MP main camera and an ultra-wide lens. On the front, there is a 12MP camera for selfies and video calls.
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