Apple has reportedly reduced its demand forecast for the standard iPhone 17, attributed to escalating hardware costs. Recent adjustments have seen some production lines shift from a 15 percent reduction to plans to suspend about a third of their capacity. The company is conducting a serious internal review of how these increased costs might affect demand. The electronics industry is experiencing higher component costs globally, driven by the demand from AI companies for data center expansions, and Apple is not exempt from this trend. The doubling of memory and storage chip costs over the past year has already forced Apple to raise prices on several product lines, described by CEO Tim Cook as “unavoidable.” While iPhones have not yet seen price hikes, it is anticipated that the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro models in September could lead to an increase across the entire smartphone lineup. Apple plans to introduce the next-generation iPhone 18 next spring, alongside the new iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2, as part of a revised launch strategy.

