iPhone 18 Price Hike Likely Due to 'Significant' Cost Increase From Adopting TSMC's 2nm Process, Tipster Claims

Apple's iPhone 18 lineup could arrive next year with a price hike, according to a tipster, after years of the company launching its smartphones at the same price. While the Cupertino company is expected to launch new smartphones with a next generation 2nm 'A20' chipset, the cost of producing these chips could result in a rise in iPhone 18 prices. Apple is also expected to release its purported 'M6' chip in 2026, which is also said to be a 2nm chipset for the Mac and iPad.

Apple Said to Adopt TSMC's 2nm Process Technology in 2026

In a post on Weibo, user Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) claims that Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek will adopt TSMC's advanced 2nm process technology in the future. Apple is expected to receive the first of TSMC's new 2nm chips, and these are expected to arrive on the iPhone 18 series, which could debut in the second half of 2026.

The tipster states that the cost of producing these 2nm chips is "expected to increase significantly'' and suggests that the iPhone 18 lineup could arrive with a price hike. The prices of devices equipped with Snapdragon and MediaTek processors are also tipped to rise, but there's no word on which phones will be equipped with the new chips.

Smartphone enthusiasts should not expect to see TSMC's 2nm process being used to produce the Apple's A19 Pro, Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, or the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chips, according to the leaker. These chips are said to be built using TSMC's N3P node, which was also used for the A18 Pro.

TSMC is preparing new facilities for the production of the next-generation 2nm chips, and fabrication is expected to begin in the coming months. Previous reports indicate that Apple could be the first company to receive 2nm chips produced by TSMC, and the cost of these chips is expected to be higher than the ones built using TSMC's latest N3P node.

If the claims made by Digital Chat Station are accurate, Apple could hike the price of the iPhone for the first time in over five years. The company has sold the base model at $799 (roughly Rs. 68,200) since the iPhone 12, but the increased cost of producing the smartphone's chipset could result in the company passing the cost to customers.

In December 2024, a report suggested that the move from TSMC's 3nm node to 2nm would lead to the price of a processor rising from $50 (roughly Rs. 4,300) to $85 (roughly Rs. 7,300) — a 70 percent jump. At the time, it was believed that only the iPhone 18 Pro models would ship with a 2nm chips so Apple could keep the starting price of the iPhone unchanged.

Howeer, Apple could also face increasing costs from the tariffs on semiconductors and the electronics supply chain proposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this week. If the company decides to move manufacturing a portion of its iPhone manufacturing to the US, it would cause production costs to increase and customers might have to pay a higher price for upcoming iPhone models.