Apple has turned the memory chip price crisis into a strategic opportunity to expand its market share. The iPhone 17e is priced at 4,499 yuan, and the MacBook Neo is priced at 4,599 yuan, maintaining a low-price strategy, while Android manufacturers and PC brands have been forced to raise prices due to surging chip costs. IDC stated: 'Apple is entering an offensive mode, viewing the memory crisis as an opportunity to seize market share. All other smartphones in the same price range will face pressure to increase prices.'
Apple is transforming a memory crisis sweeping through the consumer electronics industry into a strategic opportunity to expand its market share.
Wall Street News mentioned that Apple launched entry-level new products this week. The iPhone 17e starts at 4,499 yuan, consistent with the previous generation. The MacBook Neo laptop is priced at 4,599 yuan, lower than some analysts' previous expectations.
It is worth noting that the cost of memory and storage chips used inside these devices continues to rise. According to Wall Street News, Samsung's semiconductor division previously doubled the price of LPDDR5X sold to Apple for the iPhone 17 series.
Samsung’s semiconductor division originally aimed to increase the supply price to Apple by about 60%. In the first round of negotiations, they started with a 100% price hike as an opening offer, intending to leave room for negotiation in the final outcome. However, Apple immediately accepted the offer, locking in the price.
For competitors, the impact of this crisis will be far more devastating than for Apple. Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President of Research at IDC, stated:
Apple is entering an offensive mode, viewing the memory crisis as an opportunity to capture market share. All other smartphones in the same price range will face pressure to raise prices.
He added that this would create opportunities for consumers to switch from Android to iOS, and from Chromebooks and PCs to Macs.
The memory crisis has severely impacted the industry, with the Android camp being hit the hardest.
IDC forecasts that global smartphone shipments will decline by 13% this year due to soaring costs and shortages of memory chips, marking the largest drop on record.
Driven by demand for AI servers, prices of memory and storage chips have surged significantly. Memory affects application operation speed, while storage concerns local preservation of photos, videos, and other files.
The impact is most concentrated on low-end Android devices. IDC noted that these products will face a profitless dilemma. The PC and Chromebook markets are also under pressure, with IDC forecasting an 11% decline in shipments this year.
Mid-range models from Chinese smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Honor are expected to be forced into price increases. Meanwhile, Apple's low-price strategy is narrowing the price gap, especially noticeable in markets like China, Japan, and the United States, where Apple offers a 24-month installment plan.
Additionally, following the success of the 16e in the Japanese and U.S. markets, the 17e also shows growth potential in those regions.
However, Apple has also admitted it cannot remain entirely unaffected. During the company’s most recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple is "seeing significant price increases in the memory market" and anticipates more pronounced impacts on profitability starting this quarter.
Apple’s Dual Strategy: Low-Priced Entry Models, High-Priced Flagship Models
Apple’s pricing structure reveals a clear offensive and defensive logic.
As Wall Street Wisdom noted, Apple’s current strategy is to enhance profitability through its flagship products to offset gross margin pressures from lower-end offerings. This is particularly evident as Apple simultaneously launched the MacBook Pro equipped with the M5 Max chip and the budget-friendly MacBook Neo this week.
This indicates that Apple aims to expand its product lineup in two directions—retaining high-end buyers while attracting first-time Mac purchasers, users switching from Windows and Chromebooks to Macs, and iPhone users who have never owned a Mac.
Analysts pointed out that a similar strategy might extend to the smartphone lineup, with some models of the upcoming iPhone 18 expected to face higher pricing this fall.
According to Bernstein Research estimates, manufacturing costs for the iPhone 18 Pro Max will surge by 25% due to rising prices for memory, storage, and processor chips.
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