Apple's iPhone 18 lineup is still months away from its official launch, but the buzz around the new models has generated excitement among fans. Now, new reports have emerged, offering unexpectedly positive news for potential customers. Rumours suggest the tech giant is likely to keep the prices of its flagship Pro models in the latest series unchanged compared to the previous lineup, despite mounting component costs.
Jeff Pu, an equity analyst with investment firm GF Securities, in a research note, suggested that Apple is likely to maintain the same starting prices for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max as their previous models - iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
After Apple's recent earnings call, Pu said his firm had performed supply chain analysis. This indicates the company has multiple cost management measures in place for the upcoming devices, 9to5Mac reported.
The analyst added the company aims to keep the starting prices for Pro models of the iPhone 18 series “unchanged or at a similar level” to their predecessors.
In the US, prices for the iPhone 17 Pro start at $1,099 (nearly Rs 99,506), while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is available at a starting price of $1,199 (around Rs 1,08,560). The analyst has claimed that Apple is negotiating with Samsung and SK Hynix to get "favourable" memory chip deals.
This means that iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could be introduced at starting prices of $1,099 and $1,199, respectively.
Another analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, recently suggested that Apple is possibly planning to "avoid raising prices as much as possible" for the iPhone18 models. He noted that the company might keep the starting prices "flat" compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.
"Apple's current plan for 2H26 new iPhone 18 models is to avoid raising prices as much as possible—at least keep the starting price flat, which is helpful for marketing," he wrote on X.
A few quick thoughts on Apple/iPhone memory price hikes:
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) January 27, 2026
1. The 1Q26 LPDDR price hikes mentioned in the news are pretty close to what I've heard. NAND flash increases, however, are a bit lower.
2. iPhone memory pricing is now negotiated quarterly instead of every six months, so…
Why This Matters?
The A20 Pro chip, built on TSMC's cutting-edge 2nm process, is significantly more expensive amid the high demand across the semiconductor industry.
Similarly, rising DRAM and storage costs, driven by artificial intelligence-related demand, have further fuelled speculation that the company might increase the prices for the latest lineup to compensate for increasing expenses.
Several investors and industry watchers had anticipated price hikes for the iPhone 18 lineup. However, the updates from Pu and Kuo signal that the tech giant may not increase prices for the iPhone18 series.
If Apple manages to keep the prices the same as the previous lineup, this could provide an advantage over its competitors, who will have to make their own price adjustments.
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