Apple iPhone prices are widely expected to climb when the company unveils several new products at its annual September event. Shoppers should anticipate increases of at least £75 on the iPhone 18 Pro and other devices launching next month, according to reporting from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max and Apple’s first foldable handset, possibly named the Ultra, could carry higher price tags due to an AI-driven RAM shortage that has created a supply crunch affecting phones, laptops, gaming consoles and other electronic devices. If the reporting proves accurate, the iPhone 18 Pro would start at around £900, up from roughly £825 for the iPhone 17 Pro, which launched last September.
Two months ago, Apple raised prices on selected MacBooks, iPads and HomePods, with some devices increasing by 33%. The iMac rose from about £975 to £1,120, the MacBook Neo moved from around £450 to £525, and MacBook Pro models each rose by roughly £225. The company also recently cut about 200 workers from its Vision Pro and Siri teams and shut down the Vision Pro gaming group.
Will Higher Prices Affect Buying Habits?
A £75 rise for the new iPhones would match Samsung’s increases for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Flip 8, as well as Google’s hikes for the Pixel 11 and Pixel 11 Pro. Gurman noted that Apple has room to go higher. Should that happen, the company’s new Upgrade programme, which lets customers lease an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch from around £14 a month for a handset, could soften the impact.
Steeper prices are unlikely to deter many Apple customers, according to tech analyst Paolo Pescatore. “Its huge installed base, ecosystem and growing use of trade-ins, financing and monthly payments give it far greater pricing power than most rivals,” he said. “The bigger risk is not consumers switching away from Apple but rather deciding to keep their existing iPhone for longer.”
Pescatore added that loyalty has its limits, and that steeper prices need to align with bigger advances. “Samsung and Google raising prices gives Apple useful cover, but higher prices bring greater expectations,” he said. “Apple needs to show consumers meaningful advances in AI, cameras, battery life and new form factors.”
The Role of the Memory Chip Shortage
Companies and analysts attribute higher prices across most tech goods to component shortages and sharp increases in the cost of RAM and storage devices such as hard drives and SSDs, driven largely by the buildout of AI infrastructure by some of the world’s biggest technology companies.
Although Apple has largely remained on the sidelines while Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta have spent billions on AI investments, the iPhone maker has felt the effects of the worldwide memory chip shortage, which it says forced this year’s price rises. Apple’s profit margin is reported at 27%.
