{"id":485522,"date":"2026-05-15T05:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/485522\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T05:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:50:13","slug":"new-iphone-18-price-report-is-good-and-bad-news-for-apple-buyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/485522\/","title":{"rendered":"New iPhone 18 Price Report Is Good And Bad News For Apple Buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Prices for Apple&#8217;s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models are<a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jaymcgregor\/2026\/05\/09\/apple-iphone-18-price-strategy-vs-pixel-10\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jaymcgregor\/2026\/05\/09\/apple-iphone-18-price-strategy-vs-pixel-10\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"likely to stay static this year\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> likely to stay static this year<\/a>, according to a new report. But the delayed launch and silence around other iPhone 18 models could spell bad news for Apple buyers in 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Read on for more and don\u2019t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for iPhone 18 updates <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thesignalboost.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/thesignalboost.substack.com\/\" aria-label=\"and instant deal alerts.\">and instant deal alerts.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Apple&#8217;s iPhone 18 Price Strategy Looks Similar To Samsung&#8217;s Galaxy S26 Launch Plan<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778824213_853_0x0.jpg\" alt=\"Apple iPhone 17 Goes On Sale\" data-height=\"2841\" data-width=\"4396\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max price might be the same as the iPhone 18 Pro Max price. Photographer: Kena Betancur\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Jeff Pu at GF Securities has again predicted Apple\u2019s &#8220;aggressive pricing strategy&#8221; for the iPhone 18 Pro models this year, in a research note (via <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2026\/05\/12\/iphone-18-pro-aggressive-pricing-rumor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2026\/05\/12\/iphone-18-pro-aggressive-pricing-rumor\/\" aria-label=\"MacRumors\">MacRumors<\/a>). That means starting prices will likely remain unchanged (or see a small increase) from the iPhone 17\u2014$1,099 for the iPhone 18 Pro and $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Static pricing, Pu expects, will outperform the competition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">If this strategy sounds familiar, it\u2019s because Samsung did something very similar <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jaymcgregor\/2026\/02\/25\/samsung-galaxy-s26-price-specs-features-camera-release-date\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jaymcgregor\/2026\/02\/25\/samsung-galaxy-s26-price-specs-features-camera-release-date\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"earlier this year with the Galaxy S26\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">earlier this year with the Galaxy S26<\/a>. The Korean company held the Galaxy S26 Ultra\u2019s price flat in the U.S. while raising the cost of the base Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus. The Ultra, which is Samsung\u2019s best-selling model, was protected. Everything else absorbed the hit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Apple appears to be reading from the same playbook. The iPhone Pro range is Apple&#8217;s strongest-selling category. It has been for years. When buyers commit to a premium smartphone they tend to go all-in and want some form of future proofing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">This is good news for buyers because it means the chaos of the RAM crisis won\u2019t affect their single most important tech purchase for the next four years. The lack of mention of the base iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e could spell bad news for buyers of Apple\u2019s cheaper phones, though. If the company follows Samsung\u2019s strategy for spreading the higher costs across the product range, the less popular iPhones might fall victim to that.<\/p>\n<p>iPhone 18 Delayed Launch And Mystery Around Pricing<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Apple is switching up its launch strategy this year and doing something it has never done before. Rather than releasing its full iPhone lineup in September, it\u2019s splitting the launch across two events, according to <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-04-07\/apple-s-foldable-iphone-remains-on-track-for-september-debut\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-04-07\/apple-s-foldable-iphone-remains-on-track-for-september-debut\" aria-label=\"Bloomberg\u2019s Mark Gurman\">Bloomberg\u2019s Mark Gurman<\/a>. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold \/ iPhone Ultra will all arrive in September. The base iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e won&#8217;t land until spring 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">That means if you want a brand new iPhone for Christmas 2026, you&#8217;re being pushed into a Pro. There&#8217;s no standard model, no more affordable option, no smaller phone for people who don&#8217;t want to spend $1,099. It&#8217;s Pro or nothing until next year. First world problems, I know, but it is a significant change for Apple&#8217;s upgraders with tighter budgets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">There\u2019s also little information about pricing for the base iPhone 18. Apple is likely still deciding on how to price it depending on how the memory crisis shakes out. For those who follow my stories, you&#8217;ll know that <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jaymcgregor\/2026\/01\/20\/samsung-galaxy-s26-release-date-models-price-confirmed\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jaymcgregor\/2026\/01\/20\/samsung-galaxy-s26-release-date-models-price-confirmed\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"Samsung dithered on prices right up until the Galaxy S26 launched\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Samsung dithered on prices right up until the Galaxy S26 launched<\/a> and it eventually settled on a split price increase strategy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">If Apple does follow Samsung\u2019s launch plan, that could mean higher prices for the cheaper, less popular, models. Samsung held the Galaxy S26 Ultra price flat, but raised the base and Plus models. If Apple follows the same logic by protecting its headline price while quietly adjusting elsewhere, the standard iPhone 18 could be more expensive than the iPhone 17 when it does arrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">There\u2019s also the question of storage pricing. Samsung kept its entry-level 256GB flagship price flat in the U.S. by eliminating the cheaper 128GB option, while also raising prices on higher storage tiers. Apple could do the same and keep the headline price unchanged, but make the jump to 256GB or 512GB cost more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prices for Apple&#8217;s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models are likely to stay static this year, according&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[311,18,19,20679,212132,145451,209093,6398,96951,60763,115850,17,279,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-485522","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-apple","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-iphone-17-release-date","12":"tag-iphone-18-launch-date","13":"tag-iphone-18-leaks","14":"tag-iphone-18-price","15":"tag-iphone-18-pro","16":"tag-iphone-18-pro-leak","17":"tag-iphone-18-pro-max","18":"tag-iphone-18-rumors","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-mobile","21":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116577031549444699","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}