Apple seeks to cut OLED screen costs for iPhone 18 Pro Max

(Dan Tri) - A report from The Elec said that Apple is asking supplier partners to reduce the price of OLED panels for the iPhone 18 Pro Max series in the context of the increasing cost of memory chips and many other components.

Accordingly, Apple has offered a suggested price of about 70 USD for each OLED panel. However, the final figure the company has to pay could be even lower.

iPhone 18 Pro Max model (Photo: NotebookCheck).

Industry estimates suggest Samsung Display and LG Display will offer the panels at a price of around $66.50 each. This reduction is equivalent to about 20% compared to the price Apple paid for the OLED panel on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The report also said that the price Apple pays for OLED panels on the iPhone has gradually decreased with each generation. However, this year's decrease is considered to be unusually higher.

Notably, the iPhone 18 Pro Max's OLED panel will require greater complexity in the manufacturing process. Specifically, Apple will use Samsung Display's latest M16 OLED material set, which helps improve luminescent performance, longevity and color display.

Not only Apple, smartphone manufacturers globally are trying to offset memory costs by reducing the cost of purchasing other components, including display panels and camera modules.

According to market research company UBI Research, Samsung Display is expected to supply a total of 46 million OLED panels for Apple's iPhone 18 line this year. Meanwhile, LG Display forecasts to supply 41 million panels.

Every year, Apple announces a new chip for its newest iPhones. According to many leaked sources, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Ultra will be equipped with the A20 Pro processor.

This chip is expected to be manufactured on TSMC's 2nm process. The transition from the current 3nm process to 2nm means the A20 Pro can provide more power and operate more efficiently.

Production costs of iPhone 18 Pro Max increased due to scarce supply of components (Photo: 9to5mac).

According to MacRumors, the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a thickness of about 9mm and a weight of 240g. This means the device will be about 0.25mm thicker and 7g heavier than the iPhone 17 Pro Max version.

This source said the increased thickness and weight are a direct result of the larger capacity battery. iPhone 18 Pro Max will likely be equipped with a 5,567mAh battery, an increase of nearly 500mAh compared to the previous generation.

In addition, Apple is also expected to apply a new generation vapor chamber cooling solution using stainless steel on this product line. This may also be the cause of the increase in size and weight of the machine.

A report from Counterpoint Research said that the cost of components (BOM) for iPhone 18 Pro Max will increase by at least 300 USD compared to its predecessor. This is an estimate for the version with 1TB of storage. The cost of NAND flash memory for the device will exceed $250. The above figure is equivalent to half of the entire component cost on the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max.