Apple has asked certain suppliers to decrease the manufacturing of components intended for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which are the latest models in the company's main smartphone line. This more cautious approach to shipments began at the beginning of September.
According to Nikkei Asia, the parts orders scheduled for October were reduced by a margin of 15% to 20% compared to the originally planned volume. This reduction occurred amid lower than expected demand.
Rising industry costs are pressured by the increasing price of memory chips, driven by the need for components for artificial intelligence data centers. Apple had already implemented price adjustments on some MacBook and iPad models in June, justifying this by the growing cost of components.
Recently, Apple reached an agreement with Samsung regarding the prices of DRAM and NAND flash components, establishing an increase of up to 40% over the current value.
Another potential reason for the drop in demand lies in Apple's change in launch schedule. For the first time, the company opted to release only the premium devices in September, postponing the basic iPhone 18 until the following year. This change may have affected consumer behavior, as they might choose to wait for the standard version or more affordable models before upgrading their device. Sources consulted by the newspaper indicated that demand for the products weakened between late August and October.
The staggered launch also changes the comparison with previous years, when models of the same generation were introduced to the market in a more concentrated period. Before the launch, Apple considered equipping the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max with 16 GB of RAM but kept the previous generation's 12 GB, with the increase in chip price being one of the factors considered for this decision.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models were presented in September, with starting prices of R$ 11,999 and R$ 12,999, representing an increase of approximately 4% compared to the previous version. They came equipped with the A20 Pro chip, a vapor chamber to aid in temperature control during intensive tasks, and a smaller Dynamic Island. The Pro model features a 6.3-inch screen, while the Pro Max presents a 6.9-inch panel.
An additional highlight of the launch was the 48 MP Fusion main camera with variable aperture, which allows control over light entry and expands photographic adjustment options. Both models come from the factory with 12 GB of RAM and offer storage options of 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB.
