Apple iPhone 18 Pro Series Goes on Sale September 18 as Prices Rise
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series went on sale on September 18, 2026, with the entire lineup priced higher than the previous generation. Resellers in Shenzhen and Shanghai offered premiums of RMB 300 to RMB 800 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, while some third-party platforms discounted the iPhone 18 Pro below official prices. Memory costs for Apple's 256GB Pro models rose nearly 400% year on year in the third quarter of 2026.
On the morning of September 18, about 20 resellers buying new phones were gathered outside an Apple flagship store in Shenzhen. Most were buying devices from consumers who had already collected them. Several resellers said the buying premium for the iPhone 18 Pro Max was about RMB 500, compared with RMB 600 to RMB 700 for the 2025 iPhone 17 Pro Max. Several resellers said they were not buying the iPhone 18 Pro.
The Apple iPhone 18 Pro series officially went on sale at 8 a. m. on September 18. Outside the Apple Store on Century Avenue in Shanghai's Lujiazui area, more than 100 consumers gathered, and staff set up barriers outside to maintain order. According to Apple store staff, only consumers with advance reservations could enter the store to collect new phones; neither model in the 2026 iPhone 18 Pro series could be bought in store, as both had already been reserved. Quotes from several resellers at the scene showed that the buying premium for the iPhone 18 Pro Max was generally concentrated between RMB 300 and RMB 500. The most popular models were the 256GB and 512GB versions of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, with the new Burgundy color particularly sought after; by contrast, demand for the higher-priced 1TB and 2TB large-capacity versions was relatively limited. If consumers buy a popular iPhone 18 Pro Max from a reseller, they need to pay an additional RMB 700 to RMB 800 on top of the official price.
Compared with the Pro Max, the Pro version drew less attention.
In the same period in 2025, pre-orders for the iPhone 17 Pro series generally required a wait of three to four weeks.
On some third-party e-commerce platforms, the iPhone 18 Pro appeared at prices below the official price. Several hundred yuan in discounts also gradually appeared on other e-commerce channels.
The entire iPhone 18 Pro series was priced higher in 2026. Among the models, the starting prices of the 256GB, 512GB and 1TB versions of the iPhone 18 Pro rose by RMB 1,000, RMB 1,000 and RMB 2,500, respectively, compared with the corresponding versions of the previous generation. The iPhone 18 Pro added a 2TB version for the first time, with a starting price of RMB 20,499. The starting prices of the 256GB and 512GB versions of the iPhone 18 Pro Max both rose by RMB 1,000 compared with the previous generation; the 1TB version rose by RMB 2,500; and the 2TB version rose by RMB 3,500.
Memory prices have entered an upward cycle since the second half of 2025. Taking Apple's 256GB Pro model as an example, memory costs in the third quarter of 2026 increased by nearly 400% compared with the same period in 2025.