Apple’s next generation flagship iPhone 20 is preparing to come with a completely new design approach that the company has never tried before. However, recent leaked reports show that this innovative design and global hardware crises may push the device to an unattainable price point for millions of users.

In particular, the special OLED display deal and the growing DRAM (RAM) shortage are pushing Apple’s costs to historical highs.

Quad Curved Screen and Samsung Monopoly

iPhone 20 is switching to a brand new screen technology with four-sided curved (quad-curved) combined with “Liquid Glass UI”. This structure aims to provide a seamless visual experience by creating the illusion of a frameless appearance on the device.

However, producing this screen requires a very difficult engineering process. According to reports in the Korean media, Samsung is the only manufacturer that can meet Apple’s high volume and strict quality standards. Although other powerful partners such as LG are involved in the supply chain, being the sole provider of these special curved panels strengthens Samsung’s hand.

To remember, a similar situation occurred with the iPhone X model released in 2017, and since Samsung was the only supplier, Apple had to pay $120 per screen. This was the beginning of the $1000 smartphone standards. Today, this high “monopoly” premium that Apple will pay to Samsung is expected to directly hit the price tag.

RAM Shortage Increases Costs Multiplyingly

While this increase in screen costs is challenging enough on its own, the real big crisis is on the memory side. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a serious warning that the company’s DRAM (RAM) stocks were running out. According to industry estimates, the cost of each 8GB LPDDR5X RAM module to be used in the iPhone 20 reaches $180.

This figure alone constitutes 45 percent of the total cost of materials (BOM) of the device. Both the intense chip demand created by Competitors such as Samsung and Google in the artificial intelligence race and Apple’s own stock problems make this price increase in the hardware world inevitable.

Is There a New Price Standard Coming?

Despite all these cost increases, Apple is expected to market the iPhone 20 as a “new generation ultra-premium flagship” and not as an ordinary phone. It is speculated that the company will try to justify this huge price increase by highlighting its unique frameless design. Although it is thought that millions of users will still turn to this device with the classic “Apple effect”, considering the increasing screen and memory costs, it seems certain that the iPhone 20 will be by far the most expensive smartphone in Apple’s history.

What do you think about these huge price increases and global hardware crises expected for the iPhone 20? Don’t forget to express your thoughts in the comments section below.