$Apple(AAPL)$ The iPhone 17 Pro models are set to use 12GB of DRAM. Apple's estimated cost for that is around $39. For the base storage, like 256GB NAND, it's about $13. So the overall bill of materials for a base iPhone 17 Pro comes to roughly $582. This contributed to the modest price adjustments, like the $50 hikes on some Pro models where the base storage doubled from 128GB to 256GB.
Looking ahead to the expected 2026 iPhone 18, projections show much higher memory costs due to global shortages and AI server demand. The DRAM for around 12GB could jump to about $145, nearly four times higher. The 256GB storage might rise to around $51. That puts the total BOM for a base iPhone 18 Pro potentially at $726, a 25% increase.
Analysts have linked this to possible price increases of $200 or more on iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max models, for example, the base Pro potentially going from around $1,099 to $1,299.
This is a margin pressure point in the near term, but Apple has strong pricing power, supply chain leverage, and services growth to offset it. The market often rewards Apple's ability to pass on or navigate component inflation.
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