Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro lineup apparently won’t get the huge price hike that many people predicted/feared. The new models will cost slightly more than their predecessors, according to a last-minute leak, but don’t expect a massive jump.
The same leak also covers previously rumored design details, such as big camera upgrades. The Pro Max will reportedly pack a variable-aperture lens for depth-of-field control and better low-light images. And for better heat dissipation, Apple will seemingly add vapor chamber cooling to the new iPhones.
Only a $100 price hike for iPhone 18 Pro?!?
There’s a global shortage of memory chips — it’s bad enough to be dubbed RAMageddon — resulting in a steep rise in DRAM and NAND costs. That means the new iPhones will carry a higher MSRP than their predecessors. However, despite reports suggesting a $200 to $300 increase, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote Tuesday that Apple will raise prices by only $100.
That’s far smaller than the price increases Apple rolled out for Macs and iPads in June. It seems the company will absorb some of the additional component costs to keep iPhone prices down. Outside the United States, though, the new iPhones could get a steeper price hike due to currency fluctuations.
Bloomberg also expects U.S. wireless carriers to offer more aggressive trade-in deals and offers to offset the higher prices.
Few major design changes for iPhone 18 Pro
Apple will unveil the iPhone 18 Pro lineup later today at its Surprise and Shine product-launch event. With just hours to go before the debut, Bloomberg had more to say about what to expect from the company’s next flagship iPhones, though much of it had come to light already.
Gurman said the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro. Perhaps the most obvious change to the appearance will be the new dark cherry burgundy/red hero color, ditching the bold cosmic crange shade from the 2025 model.
Another notable design change will be a smaller Dynamic Island. The super-useful interface will supposedly get a usability upgrade, too, supporting up to three Live Activities, up by one from current iPhones.
Great reporting from @markgurman. The new Dynamic Island with 3 items is already supported in iOS 27. Here’s what it looks like.
The code requires a sensor region less than 100 layout points wide, or below 16.57 mm for this new mode. iPhone 17 Pro was 20.76 mm. https://t.co/jZshu4rFXx pic.twitter.com/mL46rcEirh
— pdfu (@itspdfu) September 9, 2026
Internally, besides the A20 Pro chip, Apple will apparently use a revamped vapor chamber cooling system to keep the new iPhones cool under load.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
You can reach out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.
