Apple is gearing up to unveil its inaugural foldable iPhone and is contemplating a price hike for the iPhone 18 series, which is slated for release next month. Previously, Apple has already implemented across-the-board price increases for its non-iPhone flagship products, including the Mac and iPad, with an average markup of approximately 23%. Due to the scarcity of memory and chip supplies, production costs for the iPhone have surged, rendering a price increase virtually unavoidable. Apple is closely monitoring the strategies of Samsung and Google, both of which have raised their prices by roughly $100 in response to escalating component costs. Should Apple opt for a similar price hike, the iPhone 18 Pro's price tag would soar to $1,199, marking an approximate 9% increase. Nevertheless, Apple intends to absorb a portion of these costs internally and will not transfer the entire burden onto consumers. Gurman posits that this price adjustment is relatively justifiable and will align the iPhone's pricing spectrum more closely with that of Samsung. Considering the high degree of brand loyalty among iPhone users, Apple still possesses leeway to implement further price increases. Moreover, the introduction of new subscription plans could potentially diminish consumers' sensitivity to one-time price hikes.