Apple’s latest price increases could be bad news for the iPhone 18 lineup

Apple’s decision to increase prices across much of its Mac, iPad, and home product lineup could be the clearest sign yet that the iPhone 18 series will also become more expensive later this year.

Today, Apple increased the price of nearly every Mac it sells, alongside every current iPad model, Apple TV 4K, HomePod, HomePod mini, and Vision Pro. The changes follow comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook last week, who warned that soaring memory and storage costs meant the company could no longer continue absorbing the increases itself, describing price rises as “unavoidable.”

Until now, those comments were largely seen as a warning of what might happen. With Apple now officially raising prices across its existing product lineup, the company has shown that it is prepared to pass those higher component costs directly on to customers.

That could have significant implications for the iPhone 18 lineup, which is expected to be announced in September.

Unlike Apple’s current Macs and iPads, the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to feature even more memory to power Apple Intelligence, at a time when DRAM and NAND flash storage prices have surged as AI companies buy up supply for data centres. Analysts at TechInsights estimate the bill of materials for the base iPhone 18 Pro could rise by around 25% compared to the current model because of those increased component costs.

According to analysis published by The Wall Street Journal, maintaining Apple’s historic hardware margins could require the iPhone 18 Pro to start at around $1,299. If additional hardware upgrades, such as an improved camera system, also increase manufacturing costs, the publication estimates the device could start as high as $1,399.

After today’s sweeping price increases across Macs, iPads, and other products, the prospect of a more expensive iPhone 18 lineup now appears far more likely than it did just a week ago.