Apple raised the price of every iPhone it sells by $100 in September. Now a rumor says the next base model will cost more still.

The claim comes from a Weibo post by the leaker Digital Chat Station, which 9to5Mac spotted and The Verge reported this week. According to the post, the iPhone 18 will cost more than the model it replaces. The consolation prize is extra battery capacity and the A20, a chip built on a 2-nanometer process.

No number came with it. That matters, and we'll get to why.

What the leak actually says

The post is thin, so here's the full inventory.

The base iPhone 18 reportedly gets a bigger battery. It also gets the A20, built on a 2nm process, the sort of chip shrink that usually buys a phone more speed or more hours between charges. Often a bit of both.

What it reportedly doesn't get is the smaller Dynamic Island. That cutout redesign is said to be reserved for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, so the cheaper phone keeps the bigger pill while the dearer ones shrink it. Apple has been drawing lines like this for years, and the Dynamic Island is an easy one to draw.

Then there's the calendar. The base iPhone 18 wasn't part of Apple's fall launch event, and the leaker says it will show up early next year, which fits earlier reports. The same post reportedly places it beside a second-generation iPhone Air and the iPhone 18e. That makes for a crowded spring.

None of this is confirmed. Digital Chat Station has a following, but a Weibo post is still a Weibo post. Apple hasn't said a word.

Why a price rise is plausible

The September increase wasn't a one-off quirk. Apple lifted prices by $100 on all of its older models too, including the iPhone 17. Google and Samsung have each done roughly the same over the past year, and the common culprit is a shortage of RAM and other components.

When three of the biggest phone makers on earth move in lockstep, you're usually looking at a cost problem rather than a pricing strategy. Memory is expensive and scarce, and phones need a lot of it.

That's the reasoning behind the leaker's framing: the iPhone 18 won't escape the pressure that hit its siblings. Reasonable enough. Whether it's right depends on a figure nobody has produced.

The upgrades aren't free either

It's tempting to treat the battery and the chip as sweeteners Apple tossed in to soften the blow. They're also line items.

Chips made on newer processes generally cost more to produce than those on mature ones, because the manufacturing gear is pricier and early yields can be uneven. A bigger battery adds materials and, depending on how Apple fits it in, may force changes to the internal layout. Neither is dramatic on its own. Stack them on top of costly memory and the bill of materials climbs from several directions at once.

That gives the rumor a certain internal logic. If the phone costs more to build in every way that counts, a higher sticker price stops looking like opportunism and starts looking like arithmetic. Apple will still choose how much of that cost to pass along, and that choice is the part nobody outside the company can see.

The demand puzzle

If you were hoping Apple might blink, this part is awkward. Earlier this week, Apple posted record iPhone sales even after the September increases. People paid more and kept buying.

I'd read that as a green light inside Cupertino. A company that sets a record after raising prices has little reason to think customers are near a breaking point. If memory costs stay high and shoppers keep showing up, a rise on the next base model looks like the path of least resistance, not a gamble.

Still, the base model is where price sensitivity shows up first. It's the phone for the person who wants a new iPhone but not the Pro bill, and push too far there and the pain lands in volume, not headlines. Apple knows this, which may be why the leak pairs the increase with visible upgrades. A bigger battery is something you can put on a poster, and a 2nm chip is a number that sounds like progress. It's a bit like a restaurant adding a fancy garnish the same week it raises the price of the entrees.

There's also the matter of timing. Releasing the base model in spring, away from the Pro launch, lets it get its own spotlight. It also lets Apple test how buyers react to the new price without the glare of a September keynote. Whether that's strategy or happy accident, it works in Apple's favor.

What to watch

Three things will tell us how real this is. First, a figure: is it another $100, or something gentler? Second, whether the second-gen iPhone Air and iPhone 18e really land in the same window, since a bunched launch would suggest Apple is rearranging its lineup rather than just nudging prices. Third, whether memory costs ease before spring, because a break in the shortage is the only thing that could make a price cut, or even a freeze, believable.

For now, if you're eyeing the base model, the rumor mill is quietly suggesting you budget for more. Early next year will tell.