Are you excited for the release of the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max? Read this for exactly when it will be. A new report suggests it might also be wise to be ready when pre-orders launch, as supplies could be short — so much so that the speed of the sell-out could be unprecedented. Here’s what this means.
iPhone 18 Pro: Will There Be Shortages?
Nothing is certain yet, and let’s remember that no company comes close to Apple in terms of managing the supply chain, but a new report suggests that things may prove tricky.
“The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable ‘iPhone Ultra’ could be in short supply this year, leading to long wait times and an initial sellout during preorders, MacRumors reported.
The name iPhone Ultra is in quotes there, by the way, because nobody knows yet what Apple will call its first foldable.
According to Tim Culpan, a semiconductor analyst, “Apple is scrambling for DRAM,” just weeks before the expected release of the new models on Friday, Sept. 18.
“With less than six weeks until the expected debut of the foldable iPhone Ultra as well as the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro, assemblers are working with Apple to rush shipments of DRAM used in mobile devices, I am told. Apple leans heavily on Micron for DRAM, but also procures from SK Hynix and Samsung,” Culpan said.
iPhone 18 Pro: Production Stalled By Memory Delays
Reports suggest that though the phone manufacturing process is going well, that “because packaging cannot be completed without the corresponding DRAM, Culpan estimates that TSMC is currently sitting on roughly $1 billion worth of Apple processors that cannot move to the next stage of production,” MacRumors said.
The belief is that Apple will satisfy initial demand, though exactly what that means isn’t entirely clear, but then retail stocks could dwindle fast.
It’s worth noting that the pre-order time is often frantic, with customers switching to their second choice of color, storage capacity or even model to be able to snag a new iPhone. And this year there are only three new iPhones expected — the regular iPhone 18 is thought to be held until 2027, meaning demand for the Pro and folding models could be higher still.
iPhone 18 Pro: What To Do
First of all, don’t panic. Every part of the supply chain wants to deliver as fast as possible, so that unfinished iPhones aren’t sitting in factories. Nobody wants that. And again, Apple’s skill at managing supply chain issues is second-to-none, so a problem now could be overcome in the next few weeks.
Second, be ready to go when pre-orders open. I’ll be covering the exact day, and the exact second, that pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro will go live around the world as soon as Apple confirms this at its September keynote, so please check back.