According to The Wall Street Journal, the flash memory cost of the storage upgrade on an iPhone 17 Pro from its 256GB base rose from $15 to $66, as AI hyperscaler demand quintupled flash prices. The four biggest cloud buyers now purchase more than double Apple's NAND volume, and three of them have signed long-term contracts that guarantee suppliers high prices even if the market falls. TechInsights estimates Apple will spend about $25 billion on NAND this year, up from about $6 billion in 2025. Storage upgrades were once Apple's richest margin, at about 85%, but that cost gap is now narrowing. Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter results on November 2 and has not disclosed its supplier contract terms.
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Keywords
AAPLsemiconductorsartificial intelligencememory chips
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Related tickers and likely impact
AAPL
▼ Likely negativeApple Inc.
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 10/28/2026 | 343.86 |
| Change that session | -0.93% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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