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Tom’s Guide TL;DR
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The new iPhone 18 series high-capacity version is expected to increase in price
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Prices for base models should remain the same
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This could be Apple’s compromise to address the RAM shortage
A price increase for the iPhone 18 series seems inevitable, but new rumors suggest Apple is considering a unique workaround to reduce the impact.
This is based on South Korean tipster yeux1122, who claims to have cited reports from analysts at Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. Let’s start with the bad news in their summary.
This leak tells us that the iPhone 18 series will be priced higher than the iPhone 17 series due to the “RAMgeddon” memory module price increase (thanks to AI Data Center). Although compared to other technology companies, Apple has the ability to negotiate the best deals with suppliers.
But the leaker also said that the iPhone price increase does not apply to all versions. Obviously, only models with extra storage will be more expensive, which suggests that the base 256GB iPhone 18 model won’t be more expensive than the equivalent iPhone 17, but higher-capacity versions with 512GB, 1TB, or more will.
If this is true, what should iPhone buyers do?
If Apple is feeling generous, it might choose to take the profit loss on all versions of the iPhone 18, not just the cheapest. But as a compromise, offering the most popular model at the same price is perhaps the best we can hope for.
Even Apple’s rumored good deeds may not be enough to win back users who have accepted that this year isn’t the time to upgrade their phones, even for arguably the most desirable phone in the world.
For smartphone buyers still considering a purchase this year, the smartest choice among the new iPhones seems to be the 256GB version you prefer, even if you’ve been a fan of extra storage in the past. If you’re the kind of person who regularly fills your phone with photos or files, it might be worth looking into cloud storage or a small external SSD.
But you have time to figure that out. iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, as well as the new iPhone Fold, are expected to be available in September this year. The base iPhone 18 is rumored to launch in early 2027 alongside the iPhone Air 2, which is believed to be part of a new split iPhone launch strategy
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