We all know that iPhones are getting more expensive, and that Apple is not immune to the global wave of rising component prices. However, it seems the problem facing the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro series will not be limited to price hikes, but will go even further: you might not find a phone to buy in the first place, no matter how ready your budget is!
When AI Devours Everything in Its Path
The global memory market is facing unprecedented pressure due to the massive rush by AI companies to purchase DRAM and NAND flash memory chips in huge quantities at high prices. This intense demand has led to rising component costs for everyone, affecting Mac, iPad, and iPhone devices that rely heavily on these technologies.
Although Apple is a giant company with immense commercial influence in supply chains, the latest report indicates that the company and its suppliers are racing against time to secure enough DRAM for the iPhone 18 Pro models. Apple relies heavily on Micron, in addition to SK Hynix and Samsung, but the explosive demand has made securing the required quantities extremely difficult.
A Billion-Dollar Bottleneck at TSMC Factories
The ironic twist in this crisis lies in the upcoming A20 Pro chip, manufactured using TSMC’s advanced 2nm architecture. In terms of manufacturing and the chips themselves, everything is going perfectly and with excellent efficiency, but the processor cannot complete its final packaging and assembly without placing a DRAM chip directly on top of it.
As a result of this memory shortage, TSMC currently has incomplete Apple processor packages valued at approximately one billion dollars! This disruption in the packaging stage is casting a shadow over the rest of the assembly chains and the companies responsible for installing motherboards and assembling the final iPhone 18 Pro devices.
What Does This Mean for Those Waiting for the Device?
We are all accustomed to new iPhone shipments selling out quickly in the first hours of pre-orders, leading to delivery delays of several weeks. However, the current crisis may make the shortage at launch unprecedented, making it extremely difficult to obtain an iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max on launch day.
If you are planning to upgrade this year to the professional models, you should be prepared to pre-order in the first minutes of availability, because any delay could mean waiting for long weeks until supply chains stabilize and devices become widely available.
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