Less than a week before Apple debuts new iPhone 18 Pro models, research firm TrendForce estimated the prices of the devices based on the latest hardware cost environment.
TrendForce's price estimates compared to last year's models look like this:
| Model | Starting Price | Model | Starting Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro | $1,099 | iPhone 18 Pro | $1,249-$1,299 | +$150 to +$200 |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | $1,199 | iPhone 18 Pro Max | $1,349-$1,399 | +$150 to +$200 |
Apple is likely to raise iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max prices by around 10-20% compared to last year's Pro models, according to the firm. Taking TrendForce's June forecast of a 14-18% increase, which fits within its latest broader 10-20% range and translates more neatly to Apple's typical pricing scheme, we could see the iPhone 18 Pro starting price jump to between $1,249-$1,299 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max between $1,349-$1,399.
Meanwhile, TrendForce expects prices for Apple's first foldable iPhone (aka "iPhone Duo") to start anywhere between $2,099-$2,299, with the highest storage option potentially exceeding $3,000. The latest on the subject from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is that the foldable iPhone will have a $2,000 starting price for the 256GB storage option, with the top storage tier potentially reaching $3,000.
The regular iPhone 18 model is not expected to debut until spring 2027. Nevertheless, TrendForce expects the same general 10-20% price increase to apply to that device as well.
The overriding reason for the price increases is memory costs. TrendForce says the cost of a 256GB memory chip has risen nearly 400% year-on-year, while its separate analysis puts the overall bill of materials (BOM) for a 256GB Pro model at around 38% more over the same period. That said, Apple is expected to absorb some of that increase via lower margins, rather than passing the full cost onto consumers.
Last year, Apple managed to avoid raising the price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and only marginally raised the iPhone 17 Pro price in the U.S. year-on-year by $100. This year, however, the insatiable AI infrastructure buildout has made memory costs even more expensive, effectively holding the rest of the electronics industry to ransom. And things don't look like they're going to get any better anytime soon.
We will find out the real prices during Apple's "Surprise and shine" event on Wednesday, September 9. The event stream starts at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
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