A market research firm analyzed that RAM has become the most expensive component of the iPhone 18 Pro, replacing the display, and Apple may accept lower profits to prevent the launch price from rising as sharply as expected.
TrendForce, a technology market research company, published an analysis stating that Apple will face about a 38 percent increase in production costs for the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, with RAM being the most expensive component.
TrendForce noted that while retail price increases are unavoidable, Apple is expected to reduce its gross profit margin to prevent iPhone 18 Pro prices from rising excessively.
The reported 38 percent figure from TrendForce refers only to component costs, not the total production cost. Smartphone production costs are mainly divided into three parts: components, assembly, and overhead expenses, the last covering everything from research and development budgets to marketing campaigns.
In fact, the memory cost structure accounted for only 10 percent of the component costs in last year's iPhone 18 Pro, but interestingly, this figure could rise to as much as 40 percent next year.
This change in component costs is notable because last year the display was the most expensive part, but now memory has taken that position.
Regarding pricing, earlier estimates suggested the iPhone 18 Pro would retail for about $1,399 USD, or 55,900 baht, an increase of $300 USD (12,000 baht) from the original starting price.
However, TrendForce expects Apple to adopt a strategy similar to its MacBook price increase, sacrificing some gross profit margin rather than passing the full cost to consumers, since too high a price hike could lead customers to delay upgrading their phones.