Apple asks for a Rs. 50,000 premium from iPhone 18 Pro customers for the 1TB storage upgrade in India.
iPhone 18 Pro features up to 2TB of onboard storage
Apple recently reported its Q4 2026 financial results, claiming an “all-time record” revenue in India. The company also posted record revenue from iPhone and Mac sales in the quarter ended September. While Apple claims that the strong financial performance was driven by the higher sales of MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro, and iPhone upgrades, analysts have reportedly claimed that it could be because of the recent series price hikes that were announced earlier this year. Now, a publication has broken down the numbers, claiming that the Cupertino-based tech giant is charging iPhone 18 Pro customers up to three times its costs.
The Wall Street Journal has published an analysis of Apple's gross profit margins on each storage upgrade it is making customers pay for on the iPhone 18 Pro and what is used to charge for the iPhone 17 Pro. The John Ternus-led tech giant is reportedly charging up to three times its cost for the 1TB storage upgrade for the iPhone 18 Pro.
According to the report, the 1TB storage upgrade used to cost Apple $42 (roughly Rs. 4,000) for the iPhone 17 Pro, which has now gone up to $192 (about Rs. 18,000) for the iPhone 18 Pro. With the costs, the company has also increased its gross profit from $358 (roughly Rs. 34,000) to $408 (about Rs. 39,000). For the lower-end 512GB storage upgrade, Apple used to pay its suppliers $15 (roughly Rs. 1,400), while charging $200 (about Rs. 19,000) from the iPhone 17 Pro customers. This cost has also ballooned to $66 (about Rs. 6,000), shrinking its gross profit on the iPhone 18 Pro.
Interestingly, the tech giant is making the most money on the 2TB storage upgrade. Apple charges a premium of $1,200 (roughly Rs. 1,13,000) for the iPhone 18 Pro 2TB variant over the 1TB model. The company's cost is estimated to be $450 (about Rs. 42,000), with a profit margin of $750 (roughly Rs. 71,000). Earlier, Apple reportedly had a 1,000 percent markup over the storage upgrade cost on the iPhone 17 Pro, which has now come down. It is worth noting that the report did not specify how much of Apple's cost goes towards RAM.
In India, customers have to pay a Rs. 50,000 premium for the iPhone 18 Pro's 1TB storage option over the 512GB model. At the same time, the 2TB storage configuration invites an additional Rs. 75,000. The smallest jump for the storage upgrade is Rs. 25,000, when a customer goes from 256GB to 512GB.
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