Apple has asked some suppliers to cut production of parts for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, according to reports.
Component orders for October were reduced by at least 15% from Apple’s original requests, according to the report, which cited several people familiar with the matter. Apple has been more cautious about shipments since early September.
Apple did not immediately comment, and the report has not been independently verified.
Why demand is softer
The report said soaring memory chip costs and price increases have dampened demand, which has been weaker from late August into October. It added that the slowdown could be linked to changes in Apple’s launch schedule.
The new Pro models went on sale after a September launch at prices $100 higher than last year’s equivalents: $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro and $1,299 for the Pro Max. Apple had already raised iPad and MacBook prices in June, citing the cost of memory and storage chips driven up by the build-out of AI data centres.
Is it a bad sign for Apple?
Not necessarily, one commentator argues. Reports of production cuts are routine, and in 2017 reports said Apple had cut iPhone 8 production by 50% shortly before the far more expensive iPhone X launched.
This year’s parallel is the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable, which starts at $1,999. The Duo and the 18 Pro share processor, memory and storage options, so trimming Pro output frees components for a phone with higher margins, the argument goes.
Further reading
- iPhone 18 Pro — Wikipedia
- iPhone Duo — Wikipedia
- 2025–present global memory supply shortage — Wikipedia
- Apple Inc. — Wikipedia
Image: IPhone 17 Pro Max (Cosmic Orange) – 8 by Kyu3a, BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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