iPhone 18 Pro Holds at $1,099 as Memory Costs Surge 50% — Analysts Call It Apple’s ‘Aggressive’ Play Against Android

Analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities issued a research note on May 1, 2026, stating that Apple plans an “aggressive pricing strategy” for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The note describes Apple holding base Pro prices flat — at $1,099 and $1,199 — even as global memory costs rise due to AI-driven demand. Apple’s Q2 2026 earnings release confirmed iPhone revenue hit $57 billion, up 22% year-on-year — the momentum Apple wants to protect. This positions the iPhone 18 Pro competitively at a moment when several Android manufacturers have already raised prices.

The context here matters: AI infrastructure has sharply driven up DRAM and NAND flash demand. Apple confirmed on its Q2 2026 earnings call that it expects “significantly higher memory costs” this summer. Pu’s read is that Apple plans to absorb part of that increase rather than pass it on — at least for base configurations. Higher storage tiers could still carry a price premium. This aligns with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s earlier forecast that Apple’s stated internal goal is to “avoid raising prices as much as possible” for the iPhone 18 lineup. For context on how broader platform strategies are evolving alongside hardware, see our coverage of Windows 11’s latest update controls and the shifting user expectations across the tech industry.

Apple’s Q2 2026 earnings call confirmed that Tim Cook described rising memory costs as having a “minimal impact” on Q1 gross margin, with slightly more expected in Q2. The company did not indicate retail price changes at that time. Apple’s Services segment — App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and related subscriptions — posted $30.98 billion in Q2 2026, an all-time quarterly high. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo noted that Apple is willing to accept a lower hardware margin because each iPhone sold also generates a Services relationship over time. That logic shapes the flat-pricing approach for the 18 Pro.