According to a forecast by TrendForce, due to the price increases of components like memory, the bill of materials (BOM) cost for the 256GB variant of the iPhone 18 series is expected to surge by roughly 38% on a year-on-year basis. This hike could potentially drive up the overall price of the device. To counterbalance this and expand its market share, Apple might consider mitigating the price rise by trimming down its gross margin.