Apple Faces Chip Shortages Ahead of iPhone 18 Launch

Reports from supply chain leaker Fixed Focus Digital suggest Apple Inc. may increase the price of the iPhone 17 lineup as soon as Monday, August 10. This potential hike follows previous June price increases of up to 20% for Mac, iPad, HomePod, Apple TV, and Vision Pro models, and price rises of up to 11% for iPhones in Japan.

CEO Tim Cook attributed these shifts to a rare and severe memory chip crisis. The surge in demand for DRAM and NAND flash memory from AI data centers has caused component costs to spike. In response to these supply constraints, the company has reportedly reduced production capacity for certain models, cutting production lines from 30% to 15%.

These pricing pressures are expected to extend to the next generation of hardware. Analysts predict that the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max may cost $100 to $300 more than previous models due to memory inflation and the cost of new 2-nanometer chips.

Separately, the company is expected to hold a keynote event on September 9 at the Steve Jobs Theater. Led by Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus, the presentation is projected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the first-ever folding iPhone. If the date holds, the Pro models would likely go on sale September 18.