Apple's Steady iPhone Pricing Pays Off as Rivals Scramble

[MacRumors]

Apple captured a record 20% share of the global smartphone market in the second quarter of 2026, even as worldwide shipments fell 4% year-over-year amid an ongoing memory chip shortage, according to a new report from Omdia.

It is Apple's best second-quarter showing on record, landing in what is normally its slowest stretch of the year. Omdia credits this to a strong iPhone 17 upgrade cycle, as well as Apple keeping prices flat across the lineup while rivals were forced to raise theirs. The firm still flagged that Apple raised prices on other products late in the quarter, which raises the question of whether iPhone pricing will follow suit later this year.

The wider industry slump traces back to a memory chip shortage that has pushed component costs sharply higher, with some vendors reportedly paying several times more for memory than a year ago. Samsung was the only other major vendor to grow, holding the top overall spot at 22% share as Chinese competitors pulled back their lineups and raised prices to cope.

Omdia expects the squeeze to worsen over the next two quarters as peak shopping season collides with tight supply, pushing vendors further upmarket to protect margins. That is expected to leave fewer affordable options for budget buyers, and adds another data point to observe as Apple heads into an iPhone 18 cycle already facing rising component costs of its own.

Article Link: Apple's Steady iPhone Pricing Pays Off as Rivals Scramble

 

[Le_Chiffre]

What rivals?
Samsung mobile is going to post their first ever quarterly loss

Chinese Android oems are abandoning the flagship market

Sony and one plus are pretty much dead

Budget and midrange oems are panicking due to higher costs

Who is left? 😂

 

[TIMO_737]

Guess we'll have to come back to this article in september to realize the prices went up by 30% and will never come down again

 

[CWallace]

I fully expect Apple to raise prices on the iPhone 18 Pro line this September (possibly/probably by dropping the 256GB storage option and setting the 512GB capacity and price as the new baseline). However, Apple is also buying up significant portions of the available smartphone memory capacity, which will have an impact on other smartphone manufacturers being able to get sufficient memory to maintain current production levels.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

With these prices going up like this, I am not sure I will fork over the money and get the Iphone 18 next year. We'll see.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I wish a "rival" would make something in the mid 5" screen size class so I could buy it.

Form factor/size > everything else for me.

(iPhone Mini user)

 

[boswald]

With these prices going up like this, I am not sure I will fork over the money and get the Iphone 18 next year. We'll see.

Me neither. It's just getting way out of hand.

 

[knappeduivel]

I expect my 2020 iPhone SE2 to last until 2030 at least

 

[usersince86]

I expect my 2020 iPhone SE2 to last until 2030 at least

I'm traveling that same road. Was planning for an 18, but...

 

[ifxf]

Other cell phone companies jam more RAM into their phones so price increases hit them harder.

 

[chuckles235]

This article fails to mention to mention that the single largest generator of phone upgrades, regardless of price point, is the subsidies that carriers are willing to offer. “Trade in any iPhone and get a new one on us.” I suspect that absent this scheme, iPhone sales would likely be substantially smaller, and the refresh cycle would be more akin to the equally priced MacBooks. That said, if someone has evidence or reporting to the contrary I would be interested in reading.

 

[ab2c4]

If Apple raises their prices in September as expected I guess they will loose their momentum.

 

[ab2c4]

This article fails to mention to mention that the single largest generator of phone upgrades, regardless of price point, is the subsidies that carriers are willing to offer. “Trade in any iPhone and get a new one on us.” I suspect that absent this scheme, iPhone sales would likely be substantially smaller, and the refresh cycle would be more akin to the equally priced MacBooks. That said, if someone has evidence or reporting to the contrary I would be interested in reading.

Very true. In the US most people I think buy this way. Get on a 3 year payoff plan (or "free phone with 3 year commitment) and as soon as its paid off they do it again for a new phone.

 

[JPack]

The calm before the storm. It's not a matter of if, but rather how much Apple will raise prices on iPhone.

For Mac and iPad which already received increases, Apple signed LTAs earlier with limited price increases. Given iPhone 18 series specs were finalized later, I would expect the same if not higher. Basically, $100 for 8/256 and $150 for 12/256.

 

[HVDynamo]

I'm traveling that same road. Was planning for an 18, but...

I had a 12 Pro, and after those last price hikes jumped on a 1TB 17 Pro. I want the higher storage tier, and figured the pricing for that will be even worse in the 18 Pro, so I just went for it to avoid having to deal with price hikes on my phone for another 5 years or more.

 

[bjork90210]

All the other Apple products got price increases to subsidize the iPhone.

 

[gummybear2026]

You can throw a strong iPhone 18 upgrade cycle out the window.

Price increases will drive consumers to keep their existing devices longer.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Me neither. It's just getting way out of hand.

With this in mind, I may very well just quit using Iphone and switch to a Samsung Phone or something else at some point. I just got the 17e, so I should be good for a bit, but when I have that itch to upgrade - it won't be for another Iphone.

 

[svish]

Good for Apple. The iPhone 17 series devices are fantastic. Definitely expecting significant price hikes when the 18 series launches. The foldable too might be priced higher than my initial expectation of $1999. Think $2299 to even $2499 is possible.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Several years ago I was talking to someone who had used an old Android phone for many years. They laughed at me when I traded in my old Samsung Phone for the Iphone 13 (which I bought as new old stock from Ebay at the time). With all these price hikes for Apple, I am beginning to think they were right.

 

[citysnaps]

It's interesting that so many people believe that Apple and Apple products should be immune to inflation and resulting price increases. When the prices of consumer products and services from other companies have dramatically increased over the last year.

 

[antnythr]

I mean we’ve always known that Apple’s core customers are not very price sensitive.

It’s not surprising that even in times where costs are going up that they aren’t impacted much in relation to the larger market that has price sensitive consumers.

 

[ftaok]

Several years ago I was talking to someone who had used an old Android phone for many years. They laughed at me when I traded in my old Samsung Phone for the Iphone 13 (which I bought as new old stock from Ebay at the time). With all these price hikes for Apple, I am beginning to think they were right.

Samsung phones are expected to have similar price increases for all of the same reasons. Even though Samsung manufactures RAM chips, their smartphone division will feel the same pinch as everyone else since their RAM/memory division have many external customers as well. Unless the head of Samsung decides that the RAM division has to provide preferential treatment to the smartphone division, you'll be seeing a price increase regardless.

If you don't want to feel the crunch, hold onto that 17e for as long as you can. Maybe RAM prices will stabilize by then.

 

[Populus]

All the other Apple products got price increases to subsidize the iPhone.

This wouldn’t be a bad idea… if it wasn’t because the iPhone represents more than half of Apple’s revenue. They need to adjust well the price of the iPhone.

 

[Populus]

I truly wonder… when are the new Micron and SK Hynix memory factories going to enter in full production? 2027? 2028? They should hurry up, although it is unlikely that once memory and NAND prices normalize, we’ll see electronics prices go back to their previous prices…