As the launch of Apple's next-generation iPhone 18 Pro series draws near, with less than a week remaining, research institute TrendForce predicts a notable price hike. Owing to escalating costs associated with memory chips and the adoption of 2nm process technology, the starting prices for both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are projected to surge by 10% to 20% compared to their predecessors. Specifically, the Bill of Materials (BOM) cost for the 256GB model is expected to spike by approximately 38% on a year-on-year basis.

Scheduled for release on September 9, the iPhone 18 Pro series is rumored to debut with a starting price of 9,999 yuan for the Pro version (256GB) and 10,999 yuan for the Pro Max variant. This translates to an approximate increase of 1,000-2,000 yuan from the previous generation. The primary driver behind this price escalation is the global supply-demand imbalance for memory chips, with DRAM and NAND Flash prices skyrocketing nearly threefold within a single year. Furthermore, the heightened demand from AI servers for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) production capacity is exacerbating the scarcity of memory chips available for smartphones, thereby intensifying the upward pressure on prices.