Analyst Jeff Pu says Apple will push an "aggressive pricing" approach for the base models of its next Pro phones, predicting that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max — which are expected to be unveiled alongside the iPhone Ultra this fall — will start at $1,099 and $1,199 respectively.
Pu used the exact phrase "aggressive pricing strategy" to describe how Apple will price at least the entry tiers of its new Pro models, signaling a plan to use lower starting prices as a lever during the fall launch season. The expected tags — $1,099 for iPhone 18 Pro and $1,199 for iPhone 18 Pro Max — are the numbers analysts are circling as the company prepares announcements later this year.
The timing matters because this year memory costs have surged, driven largely by demand for AI applications and constrained supply. Those higher memory prices have already prompted many Android manufacturers to raise prices on new handsets, and some analysts now predict the Android market may shrink overall as a cost crunch forces manufacturers to shelve some budget models.
Ming-Chi Kuo had previously said Apple wanted to keep its entry models the same price as last year, a position that Pu’s prediction appears to echo only partly: while Pu says Apple will be aggressive on base pricing, available analysis also notes the company could still increase prices on higher storage tiers, a move that would shift revenue while keeping headline entry prices steady.
The practical effect, industry analysts say, would be twofold. First, by holding or undercutting starter Pro prices Apple would make its high-end lineup more accessible to buyers who might otherwise gravitate toward high-margin Android flagships. Second, by lifting prices on larger storage options — a step explicitly flagged as possible — Apple could protect margins even as it uses base prices to win share.
That strategy could be especially meaningful for consumers who upgraded recently or plan to, including owners of an iphone 14 watching for signs that Apple will hold the line on entry pricing. For Android makers already contending with rising component costs, a more competitively priced iPhone Pro could accelerate the market consolidation analysts are warning about: some budget devices may not be produced at all this year because of the cost squeeze.
The tension is immediate. On one hand, rising memory costs are a market-wide pressure pushing manufacturers to pass costs on to consumers. On the other, Apple’s apparent willingness to advertise lower starting prices for flagship Pro models creates pressure on competitors to either absorb costs or raise prices and risk losing buyers. That contradiction — higher component costs colliding with a strategy to keep headline prices competitive — is the sharpest friction in the picture.
What happens next is straightforward and consequential: Apple’s fall unveiling will show whether Pu’s prediction holds. If Apple lists the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,099 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,199, while tacking larger premiums onto higher-storage SKUs, the company will likely widen the gap with Android players squeezed by memory inflation. If it does not, or if Apple raises entry prices across the board, the industry faces a clearer round of price rises and a faster contraction among budget Android options.
Given the facts on memory costs and early moves by some Android makers to raise prices this year, the most plausible outcome is that Apple will try to keep headline Pro prices competitive while shifting costs onto expanded storage tiers — a pricing posture designed to gain share without surrendering margin. That would make the autumn launch not just a product moment but a market pivot that buyers from the iphone 14 up to Android flagships will be weighing closely.
