Apple shares fell more than 2.5% in early trading today following a Nikkei Asia‘s report that the company is cutting iPhone 18 Pro component orders thanks to weaker-than-expected demand.
The report claimed that October orders were reduced by at least 15%, thanks to higher memory costs and $100 price increases.
Nikkei Asia claims that its sources tell it that Apple has been more cautious about shipments since early September due of the rising cost of components, particularly memory chips, leading to higher prices.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max start at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively, which is $100 more than the previous generation models they replaced. AI-driven memory chip demand has driven up the price increases across the Apple lineup, with iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, and other products increasing in price.
Nikkei also said that softer demand between late August and October could be due to Apple changing its iPhone launch schedule. This generation, instead of unveiling the entire iPhone lineup at once, Apple is expected instead to release the regular iPhone 18, the lower-cost iPhone 18e and the ultra-thin iPhone Air 2 in the spring of 2027, as part of a split launch strategy.