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iPhone 18 Pro: Apple Secures Lower Display Prices Amid RAM Shortage

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Apple has secured lower prices for OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, according to industry sources cited by South Korea's DealSite.

Low-Angle-iPhone-Purple.jpg

For example, the report said Apple will pay LG and Samsung around $68 per OLED display destined for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, down significantly from the $110 to $120 that it paid those suppliers for each iPhone 17 Pro Max display.

Apple is said to have made an aggressive push for lower display prices due to the ongoing memory chip shortage, resulting from companies building out powerful AI data centers. The supply-demand imbalance has led to skyrocketing prices for RAM chips used in devices like the iPhone, leading to increased production costs for Apple.

South Korea's The Elec first reported on these negotiations last month.

By securing lower costs for some non-memory iPhone components, such as displays, Apple can partially offset the rising costs of RAM. Even still, the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to be more expensive than the iPhone 17 Pro models, with market research firms estimating that U.S. starting prices could rise by $200 to $300. If so, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could start at up to $1,399 and $1,499, respectively.

Apple already raised prices on Macs, iPads, and select other products in June, but the iPhone was spared. If Apple can secure lower prices for displays and some other components, then perhaps the price increases expected for the iPhone 18 Pro models will be closer to the $200 mark or less rather than $300, but only time will tell.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models and a foldable iPhone this September, so we are only a month away from official pricing info.

Article Link: iPhone 18 Pro: Apple Secures Lower Display Prices Amid RAM Shortage
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/12/iphone-18-pro-lower-oled-display-cost-report/
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One has to wonder what negotiating gun Apple held to the heads of LG and Samung to "motivate" them to lower prices of OLED panels so significantly? They didn't have to, and it's not like there are many makers of OLED panels...

Raise your hand if you think the savings on OLED's will offset the rise in memory prices and Apple will lower the price increase accordingly? Anyone? Hello?
 
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Reactions: DocMultimedia, mlayer, Devyn89 and 1 other person
Think this reduction in price for OLED components will benefit Apple and help to maintain profit margins. Whatever happens, significant increase in prices for all models/devices could occur. Consumers will definitely end up paying much more than before.
 
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" the price increases expected for the iPhone 18 Pro models will be closer to the $200 mark or less rather than $300, but only time will tell." For this cycle, Apple will probably get bailed out by the carriers and the new upgrade program. When the extra cost only translates to another $5–$10 tacked onto everyone's monthly installment, most people won't even notice—just another line item quietly joining the subscription pile.
 
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agsystems said:
At the volume Apple is likely to guarantee, it probably makes good business sense for them.
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Apple always has high volume orders. If Samsung and LG said no, where would Apple go to get their panels? That's my point -- there was nothing to negotiate with. Plus, with Apple not able to find memory chips, there's going to be lots of OLED panels sitting in warehouses waiting for memory.
 
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Kylo83 said:
We need brighter displays the new pixel is 3600nits
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Is that 3600 nits across the entire display, continuous, or in HDR mode with only a few pixels lit for a very brief time?

In any case, I agree...even my 17 Pro Max, outdoors in the shade isn't that bright.
 
DEMinSoCAL said:
One has to wonder what negotiating gun Apple held to the heads of LG and Samung to "motivate" them to lower prices of OLED panels so significantly? They didn't have to, and it's not like there are many makers of OLED panels...

Raise your hand if you think the savings on OLED's will offset the rise in memory prices and Apple will lower the price increase accordingly? Anyone? Hello?
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I don’t know the caliber, but I know it was BOE-shaped. Apple has been working with them for years to get a third option for displays in their phones.
 
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SJSharky said:
Apple will keep the extra profit for itself of course. Same time in Europe: most of my buddies and family will postpone any upgrade mostly bc of price.
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Time will tell. You need to look at hardware profit margins for the iPhone 18 Pro over the coming months to years to know if Apple keeps all the extra profit or passes some to consumers. The trick is that device-specific margins are not available. We can instead infer from overall hardware margins, but that's imprecise. In other words, we'll have an idea if your claim is accurate in maybe a year.

By the way, Apple can raise prices and still pass on extra profit to consumers if the price increases don't match all of Apple's costs.
 
So yay higher profit margin when it’s already high, nothing for the customer. It did work out fir Apple tho rising memory was a good excuse for raising the every price. Who hoo
 
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Ja50n said:
I don’t know the caliber, but I know it was BOE-shaped. Apple has been working with them for years to get a third option for displays in their phones.
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"Apple shifted millions of OLED panel orders from Chinese supplier BOE to Samsung Display and LG Display due to persistent manufacturing defects, yield crises, and quality control failures that surfaced at BOE's production facilities." -- Google

So, BOE sucked and Samsung and LG still took less profit? I think that BOE bullet was a blank.
 
DEMinSoCAL said:
One has to wonder what negotiating gun Apple held to the heads of LG and Samung to "motivate" them to lower prices of OLED panels so significantly? They didn't have to, and it's not like there are many makers of OLED panels...

Raise your hand if you think the savings on OLED's will offset the rise in memory prices and Apple will lower the price increase accordingly? Anyone? Hello?
Click to expand...
Future long term commitment on present and future unreleased products. Short term pain for long term gain is what LG and Samsung are hedging their discount bets. Some form of factory investment is also possible giving Apple tax offsetting savings.
 
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DEMinSoCAL said:
"Apple shifted millions of OLED panel orders from Chinese supplier BOE to Samsung Display and LG Display due to persistent manufacturing defects, yield crises, and quality control failures that surfaced at BOE's production facilities." -- Google

So, BOE sucked and Samsung and LG still took less profit? Doesn't make sense to me.
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As an LG negotiator, are you willing to bet your career on that? Playing hardball with Apple and risking losing the contract, in the hopes BOE hasn’t resolved their quality issues and hasn’t cut Apple a special deal?
 
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I have no doubt that this story is (mostly) factually true. But it is misleading in a key way:

The South Korean (and Japanese to a lesser extent) display makers have spent several tens of billions of US dollars (equivalent) in the last couple of years making better and cheaper OLED panel technologies. All consumer OLED displays are getting rapidly cheaper for this reason, whether or not they are in control panels, wearables, phones, tablets, monitors, TVs, etc. The majority of the price reduction here isn't Apple's negotiating skill nor purchase capacity; it is greater market forces. A company I work for purchases custom panels by the 10k lot. We purchased in excess of a million panels of different sizes over the last running 12 months. The prices reductions have been a great trend from our perspective. But . . . people need to remember that such trends aren't always in one direction. Displays aren't perhaps as prone to the classic, crazy boom/bust capital cycles of memory and storage, but it is not that far off, either. There is even a name for it specific to the display industry--the Crystal Cycle. The decades-long trend of all these technologies is to become cheaper over time, and I have no doubt the trend line will remain the same when you zoom out. But there are major peaks and valleys along the way. We are also buyers of RAM and storage for the devices we make, and we are definitely struggling because of these same market factors. Lots of people lose good jobs (and thus homes, educational opportunities, and marriages) because of these crazy cycles. Since we don't have the size of an Apple/etc, only our customer service advantage, which some people will indeed pay more for, is keeping us on the right size of the profit/loss line in 2026. Otherwise, I'm sure we would have been one of those companies repeatedly announcing double-digit percentage layoffs every couple of quarters.
 
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