An iPhone 18 price hike now looks close to certain rather than merely possible. Within hours of Apple raising Mac and iPad prices on 25 June, analysts turned their attention to the company’s most important product and began revising their iPhone forecasts upward.
Apple spared the iPhone in the June round. Yet the wording of its statement, which said it needed to “begin” raising prices, told analysts the iPhone was next in line. “The storm isn’t over yet, this is just the beginning,” IDC senior director Nabila Popal said of the memory crunch.
Apple raised Mac and iPad prices, not the iPhone, for now
The June 2026 increases covered Macs, iPads, the Apple TV, the HomePod and the Apple Vision Pro, with some Mac models climbing as much as $300. The iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods kept their prices.
That hold is strategic rather than permanent. “Apple is likely protecting the iPhone while it works out how hard it can push prices on the September lineup,” IDC’s Francisco Jeronimo told Tom’s Guide. The Washington Post reported the same expectation, noting that analysts widely predict the autumn model will carry a higher tag.
Why the iPhone 18 price hike is likely?
The same global memory shortage that hit the Mac affects the LPDDR memory inside every iPhone. Apple is reportedly paying roughly double for its latest iPhone memory contracts, which leaves the company facing the identical choice it faced with the Mac: absorb the cost or pass it on.
Several other pressures push in the same direction. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that a new variable aperture camera system will cost Apple about 50 percent more than the current unit, and the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to ship with 12GB of RAM, which raises the component bill further.
What analysts predict for the iPhone 18 price hike?
Forecasts vary widely, a sign of how fluid the situation remains. The range tells the story:
- JPMorgan: around $50.
- IDC: $100 to $200 on the Pro and Pro Max tiers.
- Counterpoint Research: $150 to $200.
- TechInsights: up to $270 simply to preserve current margins, which would lift the Pro from $999 to roughly $1,269.
Popal revised her own estimate after the Mac news. “Seeing the price hikes today to iPad and Macs going as high as $300 for some models, my personal instinct says the hike to iPhones may be even higher than what we assumed,” she said. According to MacRumors, a $200 increase could push the iPhone 18 Pro to between $1,249 and $1,299, with the Pro Max near $1,349 to $1,399.
Apple’s pricing history and the strategy behind it
Apple held the base iPhone Pro at $999 for several years, favouring small adjustments over large jumps. That pattern now appears to be breaking. Some analysts believe Apple raised Mac and iPad prices first to soften the blow of a later iPhone increase.
Popal made the point directly, suggesting the company is trying to “mentally prepare” consumers. Seeing Mac prices climb by $300, she argued, will make a $100 or even $200 iPhone increase feel smaller when it arrives.
| “I think the days of $50 price increases are over.” Nabila Popal, Senior Director, IDC |
Why demand may cushion the blow?
Apple has unusual room to raise prices because iPhone demand is famously inelastic. A 2026 survey found that 96.4 percent of iPhone users plan to buy another iPhone, up from 91.9 percent in 2021. IDC also expects an iPhone 18 Pro increase to do little to slow upgrades, since many owners of older models want the new Siri AI features.
Pricing should shift worldwide, because the increases stem from global component costs. Markets with weaker currencies or higher import duties may see the sharpest swings, so most buyers should plan for some increase rather than none.
Should you buy an iPhone now or wait?
If you need a phone today, buying now avoids a possible autumn increase. If you can wait, you gain newer hardware but may pay more for it. Apple has not confirmed any figure, and final pricing will arrive at the expected September launch event.
The logic mirrors the Mac decision, which we cover in our buy now or wait guide. For the full context, see the Apple price increase 2026 and the memory shortage behind it.
