The iPhone 18 Pro storage upgrade still sells for about three times what it costs Apple, according to a new analysis of chip prices. Apple charges $600 to go from 256GB to 1TB on both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, up from $400 on last year’s models.
The Wall Street Journal’s storage cost analysis found Apple charged 8 to 12 times its cost for iPhone storage upgrades last year. Higher memory chip prices cut that multiple to about three.
The iPhone 18 Pro storage upgrade to 1TB costs $300 more
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 for 256GB and $1,399 for 512GB, each $100 above the iPhone 17 Pro. The 1TB model is $1,799 against $1,499 in last year’s storage lineup, and a new 2TB tier tops the range at $2,399.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max costs $1,299 for 256GB, $1,499 for 512GB, $1,899 for 1TB and $2,499 for 2TB. The 1TB model is $300 above the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the 2TB model is $500 above, since last year’s 2TB sold for $1,999.
Each storage step now costs the same on both models, at $200 for 512GB, another $400 for 1TB and another $600 for 2TB. The step from 512GB to 1TB doubled, from $200 on the iPhone 17 Pro to $400.
Apple kept storage prices high while memory costs rose
TechInsights estimated in a June Wall Street Journal analysis that Apple’s cost for 256GB of flash would rise from about $13 in the iPhone 17 Pro to $51 in the iPhone 18 Pro. That is nearly four times the cost, yet the 256GB price went up by only $100.
Flash makers now have leverage over Apple, which had long used its place as the biggest flash buyer to squeeze suppliers on price. Apple also made them open their books so it could check that no other buyer got a better deal, and SK hynix said on October 28 that the memory shortage will last until 2030.
CFO Kevan Parekh said on the November 2 earnings call that memory costs cut gross margin by about a point from the June to the September quarter once tariff refunds are excluded. Apple guides December quarter margin to 45% to 46%, again mostly on higher memory costs, with revenue up 7% to 10%.
Tim Cook called price increases unavoidable on June 17, citing memory and storage chip costs. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max then launched $100 higher, part of this year’s Apple price increases across nearly every product line.
