Apple and its manufacturing partners are racing to secure mobile DRAM to complete production of the iPhone 18 Pro and the company’s first foldable iPhone, with semiconductor analyst Tim Culpan saying roughly $1 billion worth of unpackaged Apple processors are idle at TSMC while they wait for memory chips. With less than six weeks until the expected debut of the iPhone 18 Pro and the first foldable — widely rumored to be called the “iPhone Ultra” — assemblers are working with Apple to hurry DRAM shipments, Culpan reports.
Apple relies heavily on Micron for the memory but also buys from SK Hynix and Samsung. Apple and its assemblers are said to remain confident they can meet initial demand, though sources are concerned that online order wait times could stretch out while retail inventory dries up quickly.
DRAM bottleneck and idle processors
This year’s iPhone lineup will introduce the “A20 Pro” chip, Apple’s first chip built on TSMC’s N2 process, which began shipping in volume earlier this year. Production of the A20 Pro is reportedly progressing well, with good volume and yields, but completed wafers are piling up because the DRAM needed to package them has not arrived. Because packaging cannot be completed without the corresponding DRAM, Culpan estimates TSMC is currently sitting on roughly $1 billion worth of Apple processors that cannot move to the next stage of production.
Main logic board assembly and final assembly are handled primarily by Foxconn and BYD in China, and delays in packaged processor deliveries could compress their production schedules even if Apple ultimately secures enough memory for launch.
Broader memory squeeze and supply-chain impact
The squeeze reflects a broader memory shortage as AI infrastructure spending eats into global DRAM supply. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the pressure during the company’s July 30 earnings call, saying Apple was “seeing some very significant constraints currently, with limited flexibility in the supply chain.”
The crunch already forced Apple to raise prices and shift production priorities; a report this week said Apple is steering buyers toward the MacBook Pro and away from the MacBook Air.
Assemblers have reportedly been told that Apple plans to build around 200 million units combined across the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra over their lifetimes, with the Ultra accounting for less than 10% of that total. The remainder is expected to be split evenly between the Pro and standard models. The foldable iPhone will likely cost more than $2,000, making it the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold.
