iPhone 18 launch and the Rs 10,000 price hike reportApple appears ready to raise iPhone prices by about Rs 10,000 across its lineup when the iPhone 18 Pro launches in September, ending the pattern of reducing prices on older models after each refresh. Yogesh Brar claims the hike would hit around September 8.The increase stems from a global memory supply squeeze, reflecting DRAM contract prices that have risen more than 50 per cent quarter-on-quarter and NAND flash costs that have jumped over 90 per cent. Apple CEO Tim Cook described such adjustments as necessary in a June interview with the Wall Street Journal.Brar's claim upends the standard post-launch playbook that Apple has followed for years. Apple drops the price of outgoing iPhone models by Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 once new hardware arrives, making the previous generation the value pick for buyers watching their budgets. A uniform Rs 10,000 increase across the board would invert that logic, rendering the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17e more expensive at the very moment the iPhone 18 Pro series hits shelves. In India, the iPhone Air sells at Rs 1,19,900 and the iPhone 17e at Rs 64,900; both would climb toward Rs 1,29,900 and Rs 74,900 under Brar's scenario.ModelCurrent price (India)Estimated post-hike priceiPhone 17e (128GB)Rs 64,900Rs 74,900iPhone 17 (256GB)Rs 82,900Rs 92,900iPhone Air (256GB)Rs 1,19,900Rs 1,29,900Memory costs and Apple's margin pressureRising memory costs sit at the centre of the pressure on Apple's hardware division. Counterpoint Research tracked DRAM contract prices rising more than 50 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, with NAND flash jumping over 90 per cent during the same period. The firm forecasts another 40 per cent increase through the second quarter of 2026 as chipmakers redirect supply toward AI data centres hungry for high-bandwidth memory. Morgan Stanley analysts note Apple locked in NAND supply through early 2026 while facing DRAM negotiations demanding sequential price hikes above 50 per cent, a gap between long-term contract rates and soaring spot market prices that leaves Apple exposed.Cook's June remarks to the Wall Street Journal marked a shift from earlier restraint, as the CEO acknowledged memory costs would deliver a "bit more of an impact" on gross margin in the March quarter, though hardware margins still reached 48 per cent to 49 per cent. By June, Cook confirmed further price increases as necessary, citing memory and storage costs that had already pushed Apple's hardware gross margin down to 38.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 from 40.7 per cent in the first.According to TechInsights, the memory and storage bill inside an iPhone 17 Pro ran about $50 last year. The same components for the iPhone 18 Pro could cost $200, a fourfold jump that forces retail prices upward to preserve margins.