Apple is increasingly signaling that the iPhone 18 may arrive with a higher price tag, as rising production costs continue to press on the premium smartphone market. The warning is no longer limited to speculation, with CEO Tim Cook acknowledging that the company has been working to absorb the pressure but may not be able to keep doing so.
In an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cook said Apple has tried to keep prices steady for consumers. Even so, the cost of components and broader manufacturing inflation are now making that approach harder to sustain for the next iPhone lineup.
Hardware demands are also changing the cost equation
The pricing pressure is not coming from manufacturing alone. Apple’s planned iOS 27, which is expected to bring a more advanced Apple Intelligence experience, will also raise the minimum hardware requirements for future devices.
According to internal data that has circulated, features such as a more natural Siri voice style and advanced voice dictation may require at least 12 GB of RAM. That would leave current flagship models, including the iPhone 17, at a disadvantage for running the next wave of features at full efficiency.
What that could mean for buyers
Market research firms are already estimating that the next iPhone generation could rise by about USD 200, or roughly Rp3 million. Apple has not said which models would be affected, but the estimate has raised concern over what iPhone 18 pricing could look like in markets such as Indonesia.
For context, the iPhone 17 Pro currently starts at Rp24,999 million in Indonesia. If the projected increase materializes, the entry-level iPhone 18 Pro could edge closer to Rp28 million once it reaches the local market.
The higher-end iPhone 18 Pro Max could move even further up the price ladder. Rumors about Apple’s first foldable iPhone, also expected to debut this year, suggest an even more ambitious pricing tier.
The price trend has already been building
The latest warning fits a broader pattern that has been visible across previous iPhone launches in Indonesia. When the iPhone 16 Pro first arrived officially, its price began at Rp18,499 million for the 128 GB version and Rp21,499 million for the 256 GB model.
That was followed by the iPhone 17 Pro, which launched at Rp24,999 million. The progression shows that Apple’s Pro lineup has continued to climb from one generation to the next, even before the iPhone 18 enters the picture.
Apple has been more stable on some of its other product lines. MacBook prices have largely held steady over the past year, and the MacBook Air reportedly received twice the storage at the same price.
The company also added a more affordable option with the MacBook Neo series. For the iPhone 18, however, the balance appears different, as component costs and new technology demands make a price increase look increasingly difficult to avoid.