Apple reportedly cuts iPhone 18 Pro component orders by at least 15%

Apple is asking some suppliers to make fewer parts for its two newest Pro phones, the iPhone 18 Pro and the Pro Max, Nikkei Asia reported on Friday. The two models were the first flagship launch under chief executive John Ternus.

Citing several people familiar with the matter, Nikkei Asia said Apple’s October component orders are at least 15% below its original requests. Apple has also ordered more carefully since early September, the outlet said. TNW has not independently verified the report.

Suppliers quoted in the report blame the price. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, both $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro models they replace.

Those prices reflect a sharp rise in memory chip costs, as companies building AI data centres buy up much of the global supply. In June, Apple raised Mac and iPad prices and said it could not keep absorbing the higher costs, although iPhone prices did not change at the time.

In August, TrendForce estimated that the parts in a 256GB iPhone 18 Pro cost about 38% more than those in the 2025 model, mainly because of memory.

However, a change to Apple’s launch schedule may also play a part, according to Nikkei Asia. Apple unveiled the Pro models on September 9 alongside the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, and put them on sale on September 18.

At the same time, Apple held back the standard iPhone 18 and a new iPhone Air until early 2027. A supply chain manager told Nikkei Asia that buyers have been less active since the summer than in past years, most likely because no standard model is on sale.

Apple shares fell 1.6% in premarket trading on Friday to $334.89, Forbes reported. The stock is still up nearly 8% since the September launch event, the outlet added.

The iPhone Duo, Apple’s most expensive phone at $1,999, goes on sale on October 23.