Apple slashes iPhone 18 Pro orders 15% as price hikes dent demand

Apple has told some suppliers to cut component production for the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, according to a report by Nikkei Asia, after the premium phones launched to softer demand than the company expected. October component orders were slashed by at least 15 percent versus Apple's original requests, with one source saying the cuts ran as deep as 20 percent for both models.

Reuters, which reported on the Nikkei account, said it could not independently verify the figures, and Apple did not respond to requests for comment. But the report fits a pattern. Apple has turned more conservative on shipments since early September, and analysts at Jefferies and Bernstein have flagged weak demand for the iPhone 18 in major markets. Apple shares slipped about 2 percent in premarket trading after the report.

The reason is price. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, up $100 from their predecessors. Nikkei attributed the soft demand to those increases and to soaring memory chip costs, which Apple has been passing on to buyers.

Here is the twist nobody at Apple likes talking about: the chips are expensive because of AI. Data centers being built to train and run AI models are soaking up the world's memory chips, creating shortages and driving up prices. That same AI boom is now raising the price of the phone in your pocket and, apparently, making people think twice before buying.

Apple already admitted the pressure in June, when it raised iPad and MacBook prices and said it could no longer shield customers from memory and storage costs driven by the AI industry's buildout. The iPhone price hike is the same bill, presented at the checkout.

Why it matters

This is the clearest sign yet that the AI data-center boom is eating the smartphone business from the supply side. Memory scarcity is forcing price hikes onto consumers, and consumers are pushing back. The industry story is usually about AI lifting everyone. This is the bill.

For Apple, the timing is awkward. The company changed its launch calendar this year: only the premium models launched on September 18, the base iPhone 18 is delayed to spring 2027, and the foldable iPhone Duo went on sale alongside the Pros and hits shelves October 23. A soft Pro launch puts more weight on the foldable's debut and on the base model next spring.

For buyers, it means flagship phone prices are not coming down anytime soon. If Apple is cutting orders rather than cutting prices, the $1,199 and $1,299 tags are staying put through the holiday season.

The context

Apple's conservative turn did not start this week. The company has been dialing back shipment expectations since early September, and weak pre-order signals were already circulating among analysts before the phones shipped.

The memory-chip squeeze is industry-wide. Analysts expect the shortages and price increases to shrink both the PC and smartphone markets this year. Apple is just the biggest brand caught in the same trap everyone faces: the components are scarce, the AI giants buy them first, and phone makers get the leftovers at higher prices.

The new lineup is a bigger gamble than it looks. Splitting the launch, delaying the base model to spring 2027 and leading with the foldable iPhone Duo is a new playbook. Nikkei's reporting suggests at least one source thinks the iPhone Duo could face a similar demand problem when it goes on sale October 23.

What happens next

Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on November 6. Those numbers will include the first weeks of iPhone 18 Pro demand, and they will either confirm the Nikkei report or undercut it. Either way, the call will be closely watched.

Watch whether Apple cuts orders further from November, whether it offers holiday promotions to move units, and how the iPhone Duo sells when it arrives October 23. If the foldable stalls too, Apple has a lineup problem, not a pricing problem.

Key numbers

• 15 to 20 percent: reported October component order cuts for iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
• $1,199 / $1,299: starting prices, up $100 from the prior generation
• 2 percent: Apple's premarket share decline after the report
• Nov 6: Apple's fiscal Q4 2026 earnings date