One of the biggest questions tech enthusiasts have ahead of the expected iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro launch this September is how much the current RAM crisis could affect pricing.
The iPhone is, after all, the most important product in Apple's portfolio, and the company sells millions every year. Therefore, Tim Cook has a choice to make: does Apple absorb the soaring cost of memory across its other products to try and continue to offer the iPhone at a price that won't put off buyers? Or, does he bank on the iPhone being such a staple part of most people's lives that he hikes the cost of its most essential product to protect Apple's bottom line?
There is a potential third way: Raise the cost of the iPhone 18 Pro lineup without it looking like you're raising the cost of the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. How? By moving the goalposts.
In 2025, Apple decided not to replace the 128GB iPhone 16 Pro base storage with an equivalent iPhone 17 Pro option. Anyone wanting to make the jump to an iPhone Pro at the lowest price must choose the 256GB iPhone 17 Pro and pay an extra $100 to do so.
That's a pretty slick move. The NAND memory chips that provide an iPhone's internal storage are soldered to the logic board. These chips cost Apple less than the hike it passes on to the customer — meaning it can increase prices, save money and arguably offer the "benefit" of more storage in return. Of course, what it is is a forced upgrade with revenue lifted per phone due to the new point of entry — all without needing to add any new features.
Craig Moffett, an analyst at Moffett Nathanson, wrote in an investor note seen by the Wall Street Journal that Apple could repeat this same trick this year to drive up the prices of the iPhone 18 Pro by increasing base storage.
But I don't think that's Apple's plan, and here's why.
I don't buy it
It's an interesting idea, but not one that I think Apple is ready to commit to just yet. As it stands, here are the current prices of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max lineups and the corresponding storage configurations.
Model |
Storage configuration |
Price |
iPhone 17 Pro |
256GB |
$1099 |
iPhone 17 Pro |
512GB |
$1299 |
iPhone 17 Pro |
1TB |
$1499 |
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
256GB |
$1199 |
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
512GB |
$1399 |
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
1TB |
$1599 |
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
2TB |
$1999 |
If Apple were to use storage as a means to raise prices, it would mean the starting configuration for each model would need to be 512GB. It would likely necessitate adding a 2TB option to the regular iPhone 18 Pro lineup and having one less option for iPhone 18 Pro Max customers.
Analyst Ming Chi-Kuo has a solid track record when it comes to predicting Apple's business practices in the past, and he doesn't believe the company will raise prices this September. Apple will have to eat the higher costs, but according to Kuo, it will use the "market chaos" to bring in more customers.
Looking at Apple's history, the last time it removed a storage option was way back in 2021, when the company got rid of 64GB as base level storage and made 128GB the new normal. Before that, it was 2017 and the iPhone X when Apple removed 32GB as the lowest storage available on the iPhone.
Apple is a company that has built a reputation on playing the long game. After two subsequent instances of waiting four years between hikes, I would be extremely surprised if Apple used storage as a lever to raise prices two years running.
Using NAND storage configurations to offset skyrocketing RAM memory prices seems like a short-term solution Apple wouldn't be willing to try, but let me know if you disagree in the comments below.
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