iPhone 18 Pro price rise now looks smaller: rumored $100 US hike

The latest iPhone 18 Pro pricing rumor is a little less dramatic than the earlier ones. Instead of the $200 to $300 jump that had been floating around, the new talk is that Apple may raise the US price by about $100.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple could tie that increase to a handful of hardware upgrades: a variable-aperture main camera on the iPhone 18 Pro Max, an A20 Pro chip, vapor-chamber cooling, and maybe some efficiency gains from a 2-nanometer process. In practice, that should matter most for low-light photos, gaming, 4K video, and the kind of on-device AI work Apple keeps pushing onto the phone itself.

Still, don’t expect a major visual overhaul. Most reports say the iPhone 18 Pro will look a lot like the iPhone 17 Pro line, with a few tweaks rather than a full redesign. The details being mentioned so far include a burgundy red finish, a smaller Dynamic Island, and support for three Live Activities at once, up from two.

The price bump is reportedly coming from higher DRAM and NAND costs. Some estimates say memory prices could rise by as much as 400%, with the bill of materials landing roughly 40% above the previous model. That said, stronger US trade-in offers could take some of the sting out of it. Buyers in India, China, and parts of Europe may still end up paying more too, with estimates landing around ₹10,000, 1,000 yuan, and €100 to €300, depending on the market.

If you’re already thinking about upgrading in 2026, this smaller rumored increase could make the iPhone 18 Pro a more reasonable buy at launch, assuming Apple sticks to its usual iPhone event timing.