I’m sure will see more of these stories so Apple won’t be the greedy looking company when the new prices come.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 18 Pro Costing Apple 38% More to Make, TrendForce Estimates
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Honestly, let them price them as high as they want. They'll find out when their customers start leaving in droves. It would take me 3 months to save for a $1500 iPhone, which puts me in a better financial situation than many (I also already have significant savings I just prefer to grow that and save for what I want to buy separately), but unless I'm getting $700 trade in for my 17 Pro Max, I'm going to just keep it until it breaks.
Prices had gone up before Apple stopped reporting iPhone sales figures in 2018. The iPhone X, which launched in 2017 at a starting price of $999 (about $1,350 in today's dollars), had been the most expensive iPhone to date. Price increases before and after 2018 were relatively steady but one must also consider all of the improvements including better, more or larger camera, displays, modems, processors, speakers, storage capacity, batteries, features, support, etc. This also includes the introduction of "Pro" and "Pro Max" models. The starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro is only $100 higher than what the iPhone 11 Pro starting price was in 2019 and the 17 Pro comes with four times the storage, among other improvements.
According to analyst estimates, iPhone's best global unit sales years were 2021 to 2025 with 2025 being a record high. Based on this, iPhone sales haven't been getting "lesser and lesser." Quite the opposite.
BobCochran1
macrumors newbie
thebellnd
macrumors member
Yeah no doubt price increases will persuade a subset of customers to hold onto their current devices a year or two longer. But those lost sales will be more than offset by protecting margins for every sale that still takes place.
Not to get off-track, but there are times when leasing a car makes sense.
That’s not really what the other commenter said. Pointing out that today’s service is vastly cheaper relative to what you get isn’t the same as saying, “Prices went up, so that’s fine.”
And by your own standard -- “price should only go up if the technology advances” -- the technology has advanced enormously. A modern phone plan gives you nationwide voice service, effectively unlimited texting, high-speed mobile internet, hotspot access, 5G, international features, etc. Comparing the nominal monthly price while ignoring both inflation and the massive increase in capability doesn’t tell you much.
You can certainly argue that a particular price increase isn’t justified. But “this stuff is supposed to get cheaper” isn’t some universal rule, and blaming the increase on “MUST MAKE AI chatbot!” doesn’t establish that the massive AI spending is actually what caused it (most of that spending, by the way, is not by Apple).
BOM is well within acceptable profit margins even with the increased cost of RAM. Pro and Pro Max lines are high-margin SKUs, and there's quite a bit of buffer there. Ultra will be another cash cow with a starting price of $1999-2099. $1999 was what my 2TB 17 Pro Max cost. So, an Ultra with only 256GB storage with a base price of $1999-2099 seems a little crazy, but many will take advantage of various upgrade deals to cut the overall cost, or at worst, split full cost over time.
Most people with Apple Card will likely offset the increased cost by doing financing over 24 months at 0% interest. Others will set aside money and buy it outright. I don't recommend leasing via Apple Upgrade, as you will be responsible for damages. This is how Apple will upsell Apple Care, which can be profitable with low claim rates.
Most people with Apple Card will likely offset the increased cost by doing financing over 24 months at 0% interest. Others will set aside money and buy it outright. I don't recommend leasing via Apple Upgrade, as you will be responsible for damages. This is how Apple will upsell Apple Care, which can be profitable with low claim rates.
AI demand for DRAM is literally the reason it is increasing in price. It is not about improving technology in the phone specifically. The smartphone market has matured and prices should level off. DRAM prices were dropping steadily over the last 3 years, now they are suddenly 4x. And yea I never said anything about Apple doing the spending. This wasn't to point the finger at them.
By new technology, I mean they add a new, larger camera sensor that significantly increases cost or something else that makes a significant leap in technology. Again, the smartphone market is mature. Iterations like we have seen for the last 5+ years, should lead to lower prices over time barring influence from outside factors.
FattiesGoneWild
macrumors 6502a
And if it does? You are still buying it, doesn’t matter. I hope it is between $1,399-$1,499 stating for Pro Max.
iPhone 18 Pro Max is definitely starting at $1,499 and higher depending on storage tiers.
They absolutely could.
But does it really matter? It's all samsung. Regardless of whether the memory division or the phone division gave the discount; samsung "only" charged an extra $100 to the consumer.
Time will tell if Apple do the same or decide to increase by more than $100.
The-Real-Deal82
macrumors P6
You are right it will be offset by protecting margins, but that is a short term strategy.
The danger in the longterm for Apple is this type of strategy changes consumer buying habits and trends. I have always kept a phone a maximum of 2 years and for the first time this year I am keeping my iPhone into a third year. If I get to next year and decide my iPhone is still good enough, thats 2 upgrade cycles I have skipped, whereas I would normally upgrade out of habit. I have said this before but most people I know now are keeping their iPhones much longer and these aren't people who need to watch the pennies, they are just losing interest and being put off by how expensive phones have become, based on what they actually offer. I also can't see myself paying £1500 for my next iPhone even if I am coming off the back of a 3 or 4 year use cycle, the cost is still high. Interesting times and I will be interested to see what the actual increases are and whether they will be as horrendous as many here are suggesting.
SalisburySam
macrumors 65816
Wow! You are most fortunately and clearly in a much higher disposable income bracket than I. I see even current pricing as margin-defining with little and decreasing added value. For example, I see no value whatever in using a 2nm vs a fatter circuit. A 120megapixel camera gives me little advantage over a 12mp one. My focus is battery longevity and how good the cell towers and service are wherever I happen to be, the latter of which is totally independent of whatever smartphone I have.
My iPhone13mini still provides excellent servicing of my needs, and looks like it will continue to do so through at least 2027. I use different devices, iPadPro and M4 Mac mini, for other computing needs, and a Nikon DSLR when I plan those memory moment pictures.
I don’t know if you, or I, am in that buyer segment population “For most people” but I tend to think I’m closer to it than you might be.
Also, supply chain issues such as memory chip shortages vs demand are certainly at issue, but so is my 2020 $1 bill that today yields only 77¢ worth of purchases today, almost a 25% decline in value, and that’s in only 6 years.
Mousse
macrumors 601
The best car purchases have come from angry, vengeful, recently divorced women.😉
A buddy of mine just bought a late model, full loaded Silverado for 10K. She would have knocked off another thousand if he would key it while she filmed.😳 He wisely declined that. The paint job would have costed more.
Yeah I assumed he was trolling with that comment. Like for me, I definitely could afford a phone that expensive but I see no reason to spend that money. In fact, I've been re-evaluating whether I think it's even worth going for the Pro Max anymore because while I love the large screen, I don't love the price. Like what am I even doing with the phone these days? Speed testing and Reddit basically. My eyes are getting older and that's probably the only reason I will stick with the Pro Max but I'm going to stop buying them yearly.
That'd be my guess too.
They might hold back on the pro and only increase it by $100 because otherwise it'd be too obvious.
But the folding iphone? there's no benchmark for that and they will absolutely launch it at $200-300 higher than they would've pre-ram rise.
The Pixel 11 Pro launching at $1299 cleared the way for Apple to go to $1399 on the Pro Max with ease. Google even increased the base Pixel 11 from $799 to $899, which clears a path for Apple to start at $999 if they really want to. $699 18e, $799 17, $999 18, $1099 Air 2, $1199 18 Pro, $1399 18 Pro Max, $1999-$2499 Ultra.
Apple could easily spin the $799 17 as "our costs increased but we decided not to hike the price on the older model."
I hope they don't do this obviously but as their competition is increasing prices it would not be the least bit surprising.