According to supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is making efforts to keep the pricing of the iPhone 18 stable despite the ongoing global memory shortage. Kuo indicates that the company intends to "absorb the costs" associated with rising RAM prices, aiming to maintain the initial price of the iPhone 18.
Kuo also mentions that Apple has shifted its strategy to negotiate memory prices with suppliers quarterly instead of biannually. He anticipates that the company may encounter another price increase in the upcoming negotiations. To counterbalance these rising costs, Apple plans to leverage its services division, which encompasses subscriptions for various applications like Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple TV.
Furthermore, Kuo highlights that Apple is not only facing challenges with memory components but also with other non-RAM parts, as suppliers are prioritizing the rapidly expanding AI sector. For instance, glass cloth, utilized by companies such as Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm for printed circuit boards, is currently experiencing a bottleneck due to increased demand from AI firms.