Apple's iPhone 18 Price Strategy Looks Similar To Samsung's Galaxy S26 Launch Plan

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max price might be the same as the iPhone 18 Pro Max price. Photographer: Kena Betancur/Bloomberg

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Jeff Pu at GF Securities has again predicted Apple’s "aggressive pricing strategy" for the iPhone 18 Pro models this year, in a research note (via MacRumors). That means starting prices will likely remain unchanged (or see a small increase) from the iPhone 17—$1,099 for the iPhone 18 Pro and $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Static pricing, Pu expects, will outperform the competition.

If this strategy sounds familiar, it’s because Samsung did something very similar earlier this year with the Galaxy S26. The Korean company held the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s price flat in the U.S. while raising the cost of the base Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus. The Ultra, which is Samsung’s best-selling model, was protected. Everything else absorbed the hit.

Apple appears to be reading from the same playbook. The iPhone Pro range is Apple's strongest-selling category. It has been for years. When buyers commit to a premium smartphone they tend to go all-in and want some form of future proofing.

This is good news for buyers because it means the chaos of the RAM crisis won’t affect their single most important tech purchase for the next four years. The lack of mention of the base iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e could spell bad news for buyers of Apple’s cheaper phones, though. If the company follows Samsung’s strategy for spreading the higher costs across the product range, the less popular iPhones might fall victim to that.

iPhone 18 Delayed Launch And Mystery Around Pricing

Apple is switching up its launch strategy this year and doing something it has never done before. Rather than releasing its full iPhone lineup in September, it’s splitting the launch across two events, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold / iPhone Ultra will all arrive in September. The base iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2 and iPhone 18e won't land until spring 2027.

That means if you want a brand new iPhone for Christmas 2026, you're being pushed into a Pro. There's no standard model, no more affordable option, no smaller phone for people who don't want to spend $1,099. It's Pro or nothing until next year. First world problems, I know, but it is a significant change for Apple's upgraders with tighter budgets.

There’s also little information about pricing for the base iPhone 18. Apple is likely still deciding on how to price it depending on how the memory crisis shakes out. For those who follow my stories, you'll know that Samsung dithered on prices right up until the Galaxy S26 launched and it eventually settled on a split price increase strategy.

If Apple does follow Samsung’s launch plan, that could mean higher prices for the cheaper, less popular, models. Samsung held the Galaxy S26 Ultra price flat, but raised the base and Plus models. If Apple follows the same logic by protecting its headline price while quietly adjusting elsewhere, the standard iPhone 18 could be more expensive than the iPhone 17 when it does arrive.

There’s also the question of storage pricing. Samsung kept its entry-level 256GB flagship price flat in the U.S. by eliminating the cheaper 128GB option, while also raising prices on higher storage tiers. Apple could do the same and keep the headline price unchanged, but make the jump to 256GB or 512GB cost more.