After affecting retail prices in the PC industry, the ongoing memory crisis in consumer-grade devices is now trickling down to smartphones as well. We already saw its impact on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s pricing, with Samsung rumored to be the next in line.
Most recently, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared some thoughts about the higher memory prices and their impact on Apple. Kuo has responded to a TrendForce report claiming that Samsung and SK Hynix are raising LPDDR prices for iPhones by over 80% compared to the last quarter (likely October-November 2025).
Tight LPDDR supply puts pressure on Apple’s costs
The report cites tightness in the memory supply, how it has worsened since the middle of 2025, and how giants like Apple are no longer immune to it. “Apple appears to have been unable to resist the broader price uptrend,” states the report.
While Apple typically enters into long-term agreements to secure memory for its iPhones, the surge in demand from AI enterprises has compelled the company to conclude negotiations for the first half of the year. The report also claims that the LPDDR prices for the iPhone maker could rise even further in the second half of 2026.
This paints a pretty grim picture of Apple’s long-term agreements with memory suppliers. Even Kuo agrees to the Q1 2026 LPDDR price hikes, stating that they’re “pretty close to what I’ve heard.” However, he does have a few solid points to counter the anticipated price hike for the upcoming iPhones in the iPhone 18 series.
Higher memory costs don’t guarantee higher iPhone prices
The analyst reinforces Apple’s leverage, as the company can lock in deals with the world’s largest memory suppliers at a standard rate for the entire shipment. Further, while higher memory costs could affect Apple’s gross margin, the company might not pass them on to customers as part of its market expansion strategy.
Kuo predicts that Apple will absorb the higher component costs to possibly undercut the prices of other flagships and, with that, secure a higher market share. Later, the company could make up for the margins lost on selling iPhones (its star product) by selling services.
From what it looks like, the Cupertino giant wants to avoid raising iPhone 18 prices. Long-term supplier deals, higher order volume, and timely procurement could help the company achieve that. However, I’d still be skeptical about iPhone 18 prices, especially for the higher-memory and storage variants.
