iPhone 18 Pro orders slowed as Apple trims October component buys

Apple has been more careful about shipments since early September, the report says, because demand for the new Pro models has been weaker than for last year’s phones. The cause appears to be price. Memory costs have pushed up prices across Apple’s lineup, including MacBooks, iPads and older iPhone 16 and 17 models.

The squeeze shows up in the specs too. The iPhone 18 Pro models have 12GB of RAM, the same as the iPhone 17 Pro. One rumor says Apple planned 16GB but dropped the idea because of cost.

The wider phone market is in the same bind. Research firm IDC expects global smartphone shipments to fall 16.7% in 2026, while average selling prices rise 27.6%. In plain terms, fewer phones are selling, and each one costs more.

There is a second reason the numbers look soft. This year Apple broke with tradition and launched only its three premium iPhones in the fall. The regular iPhone 18, the cheaper iPhone 18e and the thin iPhone Air 2 are expected in spring 2027 instead.

That matters because the standard iPhone usually drives a big share of fall sales. Without it, the lineup leans entirely on its most expensive phones. Some buyers may also be waiting for the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable, which starts at $1,999 for 256GB and opened for preorders on October 16. It goes on sale on October 23 across 70 countries and regions.

Follow-up tracking points the same way. In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Edison Lee said demand weakness for the Pro and Pro Max was continuing:

• Waits have vanished in China. Lead times there fell to zero, compared with six days for last year’s Pro and 25 days for last year’s Pro Max. Waits in Japan are also much shorter, though US waits for the Pro Max are longer than last year.
• Resale values dipped. Every Pro variant has traded below its retail price on the resale market since late September, while last year’s models sold at a premium of 1% to 6%.
• Discounts started. Chinese shopping platform PDD began cutting the Pro by 6% and the Pro Max by 9% on Oct. 16.

Jefferies also heard that Apple trimmed orders for some parts, including 2nm chips, by 10% to 15%, though the net cut to assembly orders so far is only about 2 million phones. Lee said further cuts are possible if demand stays weak. Earlier, UBS analysts noted that delivery waits were shrinking across more than 30 markets.

Not every signal is bad. iPhone sales in China jumped more than 40% from a year earlier in the two weeks after launch, before slowing to about 8% in early October. Jefferies puts some of that early strength down to discounted sales of leftover iPhone 17 Pro stock. Meanwhile, waits for the iPhone Duo stretched past 90 days after preorders opened.

For shoppers, softer demand is mostly good news. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max should be easy to get with little or no wait in most places. Weak resale prices also mean that if you are patient, carrier promotions and trade-in deals could become more generous over the holidays, although Apple has not cut its own prices.

Lower orders do not automatically mean Apple earns less. The new Pro models cost about 10% more than last year’s, so higher prices can make up for some of the lost volume. Apple has not commented on the reported cuts.

If you are deciding now, ask what you really need. If you want Apple’s best phone this fall, the Pro models are the only new choice. If price matters more, the standard iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e are expected in spring 2027.

The clearest answer comes on November 6, when Apple reports results for its fiscal fourth quarter, covering the first weeks of iPhone 18 Pro sales. The iPhone Duo’s launch on October 23 is the other test, showing whether buyers will pay $1,999 for a foldable at a time when $1,199 already looks like a stretch.