iPhone 18 Pro Production Costs to Rise 38% Due to Memory Prices

Apple is facing a significant increase in production costs for its upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, with the bill of materials for the 256 GB model projected to rise by approximately 38 percent compared to its predecessor, according to a new analysis from market research firm TrendForce. The sharp jump is driven primarily by a global surge in memory chip prices, a crisis that is expected to pressure the entire smartphone industry.

The TrendForce report, published on August 10, 2026, details how memory costs have fundamentally altered the component economics for flagship smartphones. Memory chips, which accounted for roughly 10 percent of the total bill of materials for a 256 GB iPhone Pro model a year ago, are estimated to have consumed about 34 percent of the cost by the third quarter of 2026. This share is projected to exceed 40 percent in the first half of 2027, overtaking the display and application processor as the single largest cost component.

This dramatic shift is attributed to memory prices that have climbed five to sevenfold since early 2025. The resulting "memory crunch" has forced manufacturers across the tech sector to reassess pricing strategies. Apple is expected to...