Apple has reportedly told some of its suppliers to cut production of components for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, with October orders down by at least 15% from what Apple first requested. The cut comes about three weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro launch on September 18.
The details come from a Nikkei Asia exclusive out of Taipei, which cites multiple people familiar with the matter. Nikkei says Apple has been more conservative on shipments since early September, after soaring memory chip costs forced price increases that dampened consumer demand.
October Component Orders Are Down by at Least 15%
Two of Nikkei’s sources say component orders for October have been cut by at least 15% compared with Apple’s original requests. One executive-level source put the reduction at 15% to 20% for both models and said it is unclear how things will develop from here.
The cuts do not hit every supplier equally in October because production lead times differ, and it is not yet clear whether Apple will adjust orders again from November. A supply chain manager told Nikkei that demand is weaker than in earlier years, when Apple introduced all of its new models together.
Nikkei says the softer demand between late August and October could be related to Apple’s split launch schedule, with the base iPhone 18 not expected until spring 2027. The $100 price increase also cushions the financial effect, since lower demand will not immediately translate to lower revenue for Apple.
The iPhone 18 Pro Costs $100 More Than the iPhone 17 Pro Did
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 in the US and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299. Both cost $100 more than their predecessors, and Apple has discontinued the iPhone 17 Pro, so there is no older Pro model left in its lineup.
Apple raised the rest of its iPhone lineup by $100 at the same time. The iPhone 17 now starts at $899, the iPhone Air at $1,099, and the iPhone 17e at $699. The iPhone 16 went up to $799. That puts the iPhone Air just $100 below the iPhone 18 Pro, and the full iPhone price breakdown shows the new gaps between models.
Launch week data from China showed the iPhone 18 Pro series up 12% year over year in its first three days on sale, which gave Apple a 33% share of the market and the top spot for Week 38. That window covered only three days, while the supplier cut looks ahead to how many components Apple needs over the coming months.
One of Nikkei’s sources expects a similar fate for the iPhone Duo after it ships. The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, and iPhone Duo Get Ready starts October 12, four days before pre-orders.
Our Take
In my opinion, the price increase across the iPhone lineup explains most of this. Apple moved the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max up by $100 and raised four other iPhone models by the same amount in the same week, which left buyers little room to trade down. If memory costs keep climbing, the iPhone Duo will face the same pricing issue.
