Apple plans to launch at least five new iPhone models between the second half of this year and the first half of 2027, while increasing production plans for foldable devices, as the company seeks a larger share of the market amid a global component supply shortage.
The push comes as a global memory shortage driven by demand from artificial intelligence data centers pushes up costs across the industry. Apple’s scale and purchasing power in sourcing memory and components remain significantly stronger than most peers, helping it navigate shortages better than many Chinese rivals.
Compared with Apple’s bargaining power, Chinese smartphone makers are in a weak spot for securing memory chips or negotiating higher prices, giving Apple a motivation to push iPhone launches earlier to gain more market share.
Bloomberg reported that Apple is in talks to source memory chips for devices sold in China from ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, both on a Pentagon list of companies alleged to support Beijing’s military. Apple has not confirmed the discussions, and negotiations remain ongoing.
Apple has instructed suppliers to prepare to produce about 10 million foldable iPhones this year, up from an earlier forecast of 7 million to 8 million units. Ahead of launching its first-ever foldable device, Apple has already secured components for about 80 million smartphones spread across new models for the second half of 2026. Apple’s total smartphone production for 2026 is expected to exceed 220 million units.
The aggressive product roadmap follows price hikes for the MacBook and iPad lineups last week as memory and storage costs surged.
Apple’s scale and purchasing power in sourcing memory and components remain significantly stronger than most peers, helping it navigate shortages better than Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which have each slashed their annual production targets to below 100 million units.
“Compared with Apple’s bargaining power, the Chinese smartphone makers are in a weak spot in terms of getting more supplies of memory chips or increasing the prices. It gives Apple a good motivation to launch the iPhones in spring and take more of their share.”
Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
