> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Apple Faces Higher Memory Costs and Limited Foldable iPhone Supply - URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/apple-faces-higher-memory-costs-and-limited-foldable-iphone-supply/ - Published: 2026-11-03T07:28:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T07:28:30.000Z - Description: Apple reported record September-quarter iPhone revenue, but expects rising memory costs to cut holiday margins. Its first foldable iPhone is also in short supply, with no timeline for meeting demand. - Author: News Desk - Tags: Tech Apple said on Nov. 2 that it expects higher memory costs to squeeze its holiday-quarter gross margin, even after reporting a September-quarter revenue record for the iPhone. The company expects gross margin of 45 to 46 percent in the December quarter, down from 47.9 percent in the September quarter, [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/apple-results-beat-wall-street-expectations-on-strong-iphone-sales-2026-11-02/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported. Apple also said supply of the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, remains below demand. The two constraints are distinct. Rising prices for memory affect the cost of building devices across Apple’s lineup. The Duo’s supply problem affects how many units of a single new product Apple can ship, and the company has not said that memory is the cause. Together, they complicate the company’s first holiday quarter selling both its new premium iPhones and a foldable model. ## The September quarter captures the Pro launch Apple’s [quarterly results](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/11/apple-reports-fourth-quarter-results/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) showed total revenue of about $114.5 billion, up 12 percent from a year earlier, and diluted earnings of $2.10 per share. iPhone revenue reached about $57.6 billion. The company’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max reached stores in September, giving Apple a short period of sales from those devices before the quarter ended. Revenue includes the rest of the iPhone lineup as well, so the total does not isolate demand for either new model. The new [Pro models](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/09/apple-debuts-iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) use Apple’s A20 Pro processor and the company’s N1 networking chip, which supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread. Apple’s work on processors and wireless components gives it more control over some parts of the design. It still buys memory, and its ability to obtain enough components does not mean it can obtain them at the same prices it paid in earlier quarters. ## Securing supply does not fix component costs On the [earnings call](https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/11/02/apple-aapl-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript/?ref=theamericanquorum.com), management said most of the expected sequential decline in gross margin would come from higher memory costs. The company also cited the cost of expanding Siri AI. Gross margin measures how much revenue remains after the direct cost of the products and services Apple sells. It can fall even when sales rise, if those costs grow faster than the revenue Apple receives. Apple executives said purchasing commitments increased by $33 billion during the quarter. The company did not identify that entire increase as memory purchases or disclose the terms of a new long-term memory deal. Commitments may help Apple plan production, but the figure alone does not tell customers how much memory will be available for a particular device, how long any price protection lasts, or whether Apple will change retail prices. Earlier price increases and inventory on hand helped offset part of the recent cost pressure, according to management. The outlook also illustrates a difference between hardware and software costs. Memory goes into devices before Apple can sell them; server costs can continue as customers use features that rely on remote computing. Apple flagged both pressures for December, but did not publish a separate holiday margin forecast for devices or for Siri AI. That limits how precisely readers can attribute the projected decline. ## The foldable’s first sales fall into a different quarter The [iPhone Duo](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/09/apple-unveils-iphone-duo/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) shares the A20 Pro chip with the iPhone 18 Pro line and opens to a 7.6-inch internal display. But the Duo did not go on sale until October, so the September-quarter figures do not measure its retail launch. The December results will be the first to include its sales. Even then, aggregate iPhone revenue may reveal little about how many foldables Apple actually shipped. Executives said they could not yet predict when Duo supply would catch up with demand. Ternus told Reuters that Apple was replacing units for a small percentage of customers with reported display problems. The company has not published a unit count for those cases. Reports of replacements cannot establish a fleetwide failure rate, just as early shortages cannot establish how large demand will be once the initial launch period has passed. ## What the holiday quarter can clarify The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/9698be9e0226091a537611382144eb44?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reported that Apple’s September revenue grew 12 percent from about $102.5 billion a year earlier. The holiday forecast sets up a different test: whether a longer selling window for the new phones can sustain that momentum while higher component and server costs absorb more of the proceeds. The margin outlook is a forecast across Apple’s business, not a separate estimate for the iPhone or a prediction of a particular retail price. Availability and margin will answer different questions. Shorter delivery estimates for the Duo would show whether Apple is getting more units to buyers relative to demand; the company’s reported gross margin will show what it retained from sales after direct costs. Neither measure on its own will establish the foldable’s profitability. The Nov. 2 disclosures show that Apple enters the holiday season with stronger recent iPhone revenue and two practical constraints that will take longer to resolve.