The competition for flash memory supply in AI data centers is undermining Apple's long-standing ability to generate high profits from storage upgrades in iPhones. In the iPhone 17 Pro era, consumers need to pay an additional $200 to upgrade from the base capacity to 512GB, while Apple's estimated additional storage cost is only $15, resulting in a difference of $185. By the time of the iPhone 18 Pro, the additional cost rises to $66, and the difference decreases to $134. The changes for the 1TB version are even more pronounced: the additional storage cost has increased from $42 to $192, and Apple has raised the upgrade price from $400 to $600, resulting in a difference after deducting the additional storage cost that has increased from $358 to $408, but the gross margin has dropped from approximately 89.5% to 68%. The estimated storage cost for the new 2TB version is as high as $450. As AI companies purchase flash memory in large quantities and suppliers gain more bargaining power, Apple is passing on some of the costs by raising prices, but the high profit margins from storage upgrades have been eroded.