Apple faces a downgrade as analysts warn of significant price increases for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro series.
Jeff Pu, an analyst at GF Securities, has lowered his rating on Apple to "Hold" following the company's quarterly guidance.
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The move comes amid expectations that surging component costs could raise retail prices by $200 to $300 when the new iPhones launch in September.
Rising Costs Across the Industry
Memory chip prices are climbing sharply, driven by high demand for AI server infrastructure.
This is creating inflationary pressures across the global smartphone sector, with manufacturers passing on higher expenses to consumers.
Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon noted that these price shifts are altering buyer behavior.
"Consumer preference within the premium category is changing towards a preference to the lower end of the premium, as well to last year’s phone, because of the memory price increases," he said.
Other handset makers have already adjusted prices.
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Samsung raised prices by up to $200 for high-tier foldables, while Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, and Vivo also announced hikes.
Apple CEO Tim Cook described the memory cost surge as a "100-year flood" during the Q3 earnings call.
"What I would characterize as a 100-year flood on memory pricing with exponential increases in memory prices," Cook said.
He added that higher silicon costs will persist into the September quarter, though inventory stockpiles and lower costs for some components may mitigate the impact.
Impact on iPhone 18 Pro
Pu highlighted that higher 2-nanometer silicon and DRAM/NAND costs will directly hit margins and retail pricing.
"Higher 2nm silicon and DRAM/NAND costs could drive a $250–300 price hike for iPhone 18 Pro [and iPhone 18 Pro Max]," he said.
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Although the iPhone 18 Pro will feature next-generation Apple Intelligence and updated Siri, Pu warned that consumer reluctance toward higher prices may suppress demand.
