Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max pricing paradox starts to make sense
Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max pricing paradox starts to make sense
https://vietnamnet.vn/en/apple-s-iphone-18-pro-max-pricing-paradox-starts-to-make-sense-2527822.html
Publish Date: 2026-06-20 21:30:00
Source Domain: vietnamnet.vn
iPhone 18 Pro Max in the rumored Dark Cherry color. Photo: X/Jon Rettinger
Some of the most disappointing rumors yet about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max have just surfaced – and what makes them particularly noteworthy is that they appear to be backed by comments from CEO Tim Cook himself.
The message is becoming increasingly clear: Apple’s next-generation premium iPhones are likely to be significantly more expensive. For anyone who has been closely following the technology industry over the past year, that possibility should not come as a surprise. In fact, many analysts have been predicting such a scenario for quite some time.
What is truly worth examining, however, is not the prospect of Apple raising prices, but the reasoning behind it. And the answer goes beyond the simple reality of rising component costs across the technology sector.
Apple is genuinely facing cost pressure
In recent remarks, Tim Cook acknowledged that Apple is dealing with “very substantial” cost increases throughout its supply chain. He stressed that the company has worked hard to shield consumers from those additional expenses, but maintaining that approach is becoming increasingly difficult.
At first glance, it may sound contradictory for a company worth trillions of dollars to discuss cost pressures. Apple was valued at roughly $2.4 trillion in 2024, and by mid-2026 its market capitalization had surpassed $4.3 trillion. Financial hardship is clearly not the issue.
Yet market value and manufacturing costs are two entirely different matters. Regardless of whether Apple’s stock price rises or falls, the company must still confront the reality that electronic components are becoming more expensive.
The technology industry is now entering what some analysts have dubbed the “RAMpocalypse” – a severe memory pricing crisis. The price of 64GB DDR5 memory modules has climbed from around $200 in early 2025 to nearly $1,000 today.
The main driver is artificial…
