Apple has told some of its suppliers to cut production of components for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Nikkei Asia reported on Friday, citing soft demand. The report, carried by Reuters this morning, lands barely three weeks after the phones went on sale on September 18.
It is the clearest sign yet that Apple’s latest Pro cycle is not matching its own expectations, and it confirms what supply-chain analysts have been flagging since pre-orders opened.
Nikkei: component orders trimmed weeks after launch
According to Nikkei Asia, Apple asked “some of its suppliers” to reduce component production for both Pro models. Neither Apple nor the suppliers have commented publicly, and the report does not specify how deep the cuts go or which components are affected.
The timing matters. Apple rarely adjusts orders this early in a cycle unless the gap between forecast and reality is meaningful. Three weeks after launch is about when the first wave of launch-day demand has been fulfilled and Apple gets its first clean read on sustained, everyday sales.
Analysts saw it coming: the “lukewarm” pre-order data
The supply-chain data pointed this way a month ago. In mid-September, GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu described initial iPhone 18 Pro wait times as “lukewarm” and trimmed his production estimate for the Pro lineup to 72 million units, citing limited spec upgrades and higher pricing, especially on larger storage tiers.
JPMorgan’s delivery-time tracking told a similar story. In the first week of pre-orders, the global delivery estimate for the iPhone 18 Pro was about 7 days, versus roughly 15 days a year earlier. The Pro Max sat at 19 days versus 24. The year-over-year gap was widest in China: the Pro fell from about 30 days of lead time to 13, the Pro Max from 30 to 21.
| Model | 2025 lead time (week 1) | 2026 lead time (week 1) |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro (global) | ~15 days | ~7 days |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max (global) | ~24 days | ~19 days |
| iPhone 18 Pro (China) | ~30 days | ~13 days |
| iPhone 18 Pro Max (China) | ~30 days | ~21 days |
JPMorgan itself urged caution: this year’s mix is different because there was no entry-level model launch, so more supply flowed to fewer models, which mechanically shortens queues. The bank also noted that some buyers appear to be deliberately waiting for Apple’s foldable. Still, Nikkei’s report today moves the story from analyst inference to a supply-chain action by Apple itself.
Two pressures squeezing the Pro: higher prices and costlier memory
The pricing story is hard to ignore. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 in the US, up $100 from the iPhone 17 Pro, and the Pro Max opens at $1,299. The 2TB configurations reach $2,399 and $2,499. Pu’s read was blunt: modest spec improvements plus higher prices are weighing on upgrades, with the pain concentrated in the priciest storage tiers.
Behind the scenes, Apple faces a cost squeeze of its own. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confirmed earlier that Apple scaled back some hardware shipment plans because of DRAM shortages, as AI data centers absorb memory supply that would otherwise go to consumer devices. TrendForce estimates memory now accounts for roughly a third of iPhone production cost, up from about 10% a year ago, and expects memory prices to keep climbing into 2028. We covered the consumer side of the same crisis this week, when Google raised the Pixel 10a to $599 without changing a single spec.
China breaks the pattern, and the iPhone Duo complicates everything
The one market bucking the trend is China, where the absence of a base iPhone 18 model has pushed buyers toward the Pro lineup more aggressively. But even there, JPMorgan sees consumers primed by years of domestic foldables holding off for Apple’s own foldable instead.
That foldable, the iPhone Duo, opens pre-orders on October 16 and goes on sale October 23 at $1,999. Pu expects the Duo to cannibalize some Pro Max buyers, and he separately cut his 2026 Duo build estimate from 7 million to 6 million units over hinge production challenges. Apple is betting the Duo becomes the upgrade event the Pro cycle did not deliver, which makes the next two weeks the real test of this fall’s lineup.
What this means if you are shopping for an iPhone
Soft demand plus order cuts is the combination that historically precedes discounts. Apple itself rarely cuts list prices mid-cycle, but carriers and retailers do, especially around the holidays. If you are not in a hurry, watching for deals through November and December makes sense.
If you are deciding between generations, our iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 17 Pro comparison breaks down every difference that matters. Last year’s models are also getting cheaper: the iPhone 17 Pro now starts at Rs 1,34,900 in India and has been spotted at deeper discounts on quick-commerce platforms.
And if the foldable is what you are really waiting for, our iPhone Duo pre-order prep guide covers the October 12 “Get Ready” window, and our Duo vs Galaxy Z Fold 8 comparison pits it against Samsung’s established foldable. The memory-cost pressure behind all of this is explained in our Pixel 10a price-hike story.
Context matters here: Apple just posted record iPhone and Services revenue of $109.4 billion for the quarter, up 16% year over year. “Soft demand” is soft relative to Apple’s own ambitious targets, not a collapse. But with the Duo launch two weeks away, Apple needs the foldable to land, because the Pro cycle, by the supply chain’s own verdict, is underperforming.
