Storage price hikes hit iPhone demand, Apple cuts new model component orders, AAPL falls nearly 2% in premarket trading

October 9 — According to Nikkei Asia, citing supply chain sources, Apple has asked some suppliers to cut component orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, with October order volumes reduced by at least 15% from the original plan, mainly due to rising memory chip costs and weaker-than-expected demand for the new models.

This adjustment may be interpreted by the market as a backlash against the consumer electronics market from expanding AI memory demand. AI data centers continue to compete for memory chip capacity, driving up DRAM and NAND prices. Apple's new high-end iPhone starts at $100 more than the previous generation, passing cost pressure on to consumers while further dampening end-user upgrade demand.

However, the report noted that the order changes may also be related to Apple adjusting the launch rhythm of new iPhone models and cannot yet be directly equated with an actual year-on-year sales decline. Apple has not yet officially confirmed the related order cuts.

Affected by the news, Apple shares fell nearly 2% in premarket trading in the U.S. at one point. According to TradingBeats monitoring, the AAPL perpetual contract on Hyperliquid fell back to around $334.