ON 29 January 2026, Ming-Chi Kuo outlined how rising memory costs could shape Apple’s strategy around the iPhone 18. He notes that Apple is unlikely to raise retail prices for the iPhone 18 series, preferring to keep pricing stable to capture a larger market share and offset thinner hardware margins with its services ecosystem. The article explains that Apple has secured robust supplier agreements and will renegotiate costs on a quarterly basis, rather than monthly, to manage volatility in the NAND market.
It also references a previous arrangement with Kioxia, which was adjusted annually and involved storage rather than volatile memory. Under the new quarterly framework, NAND suppliers will recalibrate costs with Apple based on prevailing market rates, allowing suppliers to recapture lost profitability.
The piece states that Apple plans to absorb the fiscal burden of chip scarcity to protect its supply chain and maintain its market dominance, with the autumn release of the iPhone 18 and its entry-level models not expected to see price hikes, though the fate of the Pro variants remains uncertain. It also notes that AI servers and other factors could cause shortages in auxiliary components, potentially prompting proactive stockpiling.