The price of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, the next-generation flagship smartphone expected to be unveiled by Apple in September, is expected to be more than 3 million won. In addition to the increase in manufacturing costs (chip inflation) due to the ‘memory supply shortage’, the impact of the sharp rise in the exchange rate is expected to have an impact. On the 12th, market research firm Counterpoint Research compared the expected manufacturing cost specifications of the iPhone 18 Pro Max 1TB capacity model with the previous model and analyzed that “a cost increase of about $300 (approximately KRW 453,270) is expected.” The report said that the price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which was around $500, is expected to increase. It was expected that the manufacturing cost would increase to around $800 starting with the iPhone 18 Pro Max. Only the NAND and RAM prices for the iPhone 18 Pro Max are close to the manufacturing cost of the previous model. Among the components, the ones whose prices will rise the most are the storage devices, NAND flash (NAND) and RAM. In the meantime, Apple, as a ‘super power’ with strong negotiating power, has severely suppressed the delivery prices of memory manufacturers. However, the aftermath of the global memory shortage caused by the surge in AI demand made this strategy unsustainable.