People waiting to buy iPhone 18 Pro Max receive bad news

(Dan Tri) - According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, 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.

Experts estimate that component costs for the iPhone 18 Pro Max will increase (Photo: MacRumors).

In addition, DRAM prices are also rising sharply as both components come under pressure from widespread memory chip shortages related to skyrocketing demand for AI hardware.

Apple's planned switch to 2nm chips is also considered the cause of cost increases. The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and iPhone 18 Pro Max duo are expected to be equipped with the A20 Pro chip, manufactured on TSMC's N2 process. Initial manufacturing costs on a new process often increase the price per chip unit.

Experts at Counterpoint Research say the cost of screens and other components could decrease compared to the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max. This helps partially compensate for the increase in memory and chips.

The above report appeared just a few weeks after Apple increased the prices of a series of products, including Mac computers, iPads, Apple TV, HomePod and Vision Pro. Prices for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods remain the same during this adjustment. However, the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ series is expected to become the next price increase target.

According to MacRumors, the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be about 9mm thick and weigh 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. Accordingly, the iPhone 18 Pro Max will likely be equipped with a 5,567mAh battery, an increase of nearly 500mAh compared to the previous generation.

iPhone 18 Pro Max model (Photo: NotebookCheck).

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.

Apple may use different types of network modems on iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max depending on the market. A report from supplier Tata Electronics said that the iPhone 18 Pro in the US market will continue to use Qualcomm hardware to meet the high-speed mmWave 5G band.

Meanwhile, international versions will be equipped with C2 modem (codename Ganymede) designed by Apple itself. Modem C2 is said to not support mmWave, but has an advantage in power saving compared to competitors from Qualcomm.

This leads to the result that iPhone 18 Pro users in countries outside the US may own a device with better battery life than the version sold in the US.