Apple Iphone 18 Pro May Keep 17 Pro Starting Prices
apple iphone 18 pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max base storage models could keep the same starting prices as the iPhone 17 Pro lineup. Jeff Pu said Apple may use an "aggressive pricing strategy" when the range launches this year.
That would give Apple room to soften rising memory costs without putting the increase at the headline price. Buyers looking at the cheapest Pro models would see the clearest sign of that move, while higher storage tiers could absorb more of the pressure.
Jeff Pu And Apple Pricing
Pu’s note points to a simple tradeoff. Apple could hold the base price steady on the Pro models and push more of the cost increase into larger storage options. That keeps the entry point unchanged for buyers who want the Pro hardware but not the most storage.
For shoppers, the practical effect is a familiar split. The starting model may look stable on paper, but the bill can rise quickly once storage needs go beyond the base tier.
Samsung And Google Pressure
Apple is weighing that move as Samsung has already kept the Galaxy S26 Ultra price steady while making up the difference with higher prices for the base model and Galaxy S26 Plus. Samsung also raised the price of the eight-month-old Galaxy Z Fold 7 by $80 and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 by $80, while the Galaxy S25 Edge rose by $80 and the Galaxy S25 FE rose by $40.
Google has taken the opposite tack and repeatedly slashed the price of the entire Pixel 10 series. Apple’s pricing choice sits between those two approaches, with no sign in the facts provided that it plans a broad discount strategy.
Apple Services And Memory
Apple’s Q2 2026 results showed services revenue of $30.98 billion, up 16% year over year, and services accounted for 27.9% of total quarterly revenue. The iPhone brought in $56.99 billion in the same results, giving Apple more room than hardware-only rivals to protect margins if it wants to.
IDC analysts do not expect relief in memory pricing until late 2027. That leaves Apple facing a cost squeeze for longer than one product cycle, which makes the base-storage pricing decision on the iPhone 18 range the part to watch next.
The unanswered question is whether Apple will hold the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max starting prices at iPhone 17 Pro levels when it sets the final lineup this year.
