If you were hoping the iPhone 18 Pro Max would hold the line on price, this report from Counterpoint Research is not going to make you feel better. The firm estimates that the bill of materials for the iPhone 18 Pro Max could rise by nearly $300 compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the culprit is almost entirely memory.
DRAM and NAND flash storage prices have gone through the roof, driven by the same AI infrastructure boom that’s been squeezing the entire semiconductor industry. Counterpoint’s numbers are stark: NAND flash could cost around four times more than the previous generation, and DRAM is in similar territory. On a 1TB iPhone 18 Pro Max, memory becomes one of the single most expensive components inside the entire device. That’s a significant shift from where things stood even a year ago.
The A20 Pro chip is expected to remain roughly similar in cost despite moving to a more advanced manufacturing process, and display costs could actually come down slightly. Camera components tick up modestly with the upgraded hardware. But none of those movements come close to offsetting what’s happening with memory pricing.
The practical question is how much of this Apple passes on to buyers. Analysts are pointing to retail price increases of around $200 as a likely scenario, though higher-capacity storage tiers could see larger jumps since they’re more exposed to NAND price hikes. Apple could also absorb some of the cost and take a hit on margins instead. Reports have also emerged suggesting Apple is exploring Chinese memory suppliers for devices sold in China as a way to manage costs though that won’t translate into savings for customers elsewhere.
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