Apple negotiating lower prices for iPhone 18 Pro Max display
What's the story
Apple is negotiating with its display suppliers to lower the prices of OLED panels for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max. The tech giant has proposed a price of around $70 per panel, according to a report by The Elec. Samsung Display and LG Display are expected to supply these panels at an average cost of about $66.50, which is nearly 20% less than what they charged for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Market maneuvering
Apple has been gradually lowering iPhone OLED panel costs
The move to lower OLED panel costs isn't new for Apple.
The Elec points out that iPhone OLED panel prices have been gradually decreasing with each new generation.
For instance, the panels for iPhone 16 Pro Max were said to cost over $100, but the price dropped to around $80 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Now, Apple is trying to offset rising memory chip costs by negotiating lower prices on other key components like displays and camera modules.
Tech upgrade
iPhone 18 Pro series to feature Samsung's M16 OLED
Despite the price negotiations, Apple is not compromising on display quality.
The iPhone 18 Pro series is expected to feature the M16 OLED from Samsung Display's latest organic material set.
This new tech promises improvements in brightness, lifespan, and color reproduction.
Market research firm UBI Research estimates that Samsung Display will supply around 46 million OLED panels for the iPhone 18 series this year while LG Display will provide about 41.09 million panels.
Pricing speculation
Apple may raise iPhone 18 Pro series prices by $200
Separately, a recent IDC report indicated that Apple could raise the prices of iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max by as much as $200 due to the memory chip crisis.
This comes after Apple's decision to increase prices for its iPads and MacBooks amid a memory chip crunch that has driven up demand for raw materials needed to manufacture these devices.