Continuing the thread of yesterday’s report that Apple is short on DRAM for its upcoming iPhones, there’s more to the story. Apple could likely have limited iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max availability at launch.
Per Culpium, the iPhone 18 Pro models and the foldable iPhone Ultra will use the new A20 Pro SoC, based on TSMC’s N2 node. TSMC has reportedly been able to progress well with volume and yields, but wafers are piling up waiting for DRAM to be packaged on the chips. Apple is scrambling to supply DRAM from Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung, and is even exploring Chinese-sourced avenues like CMXT. Waiting for DRAM could cause delays when the new iPhone models arrive in a few weeks.
A big part of the problem is the fact that Apple will only launch “Pro” models this Fall. We’ll likely only see the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, along with the first foldable iPhone (the Ultra?) at the annual iPhone event in September. The base model iPhone 18 is rumored to get pushed into early 2027. That would create more demand for the Pro and Pro Max at launch.
Apple is supposedly confident it can meet initial demand but is worried that wait times for online orders could quickly become long.