Apple to increase iPhone, Mac and iPad prices, Tim Cook says it is unavoidable

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that price hikes for iPhones, Macs and iPads are coming as soaring memory and storage chip costs hit the company. The increase could affect future Apple products, with Macs and iPads potentially seeing higher prices first.

In Short

• Tim Cook says Apple can no longer avoid raising product prices
• Rising AI demand has pushed memory and storage chip costs sharply higher
• Macs and iPads could see price hikes before the iPhone 18 launch

Apple users will soon have to pay more for their next iPhone, Mac or iPad. After months of keeping prices steady while several rival brands like OnePlus and Nothing increased rates, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now confirmed that price hikes are on the way. According to Cook, the company can no longer absorb the sharp rise in component costs, particularly for memory and storage chips that have become increasingly expensive due to booming demand from the artificial intelligence industry.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook admitted that raising prices is no longer avoidable. “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” he said. “We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.”

The issue stems from a growing shortage of memory and storage chips, two critical components used in smartphones, tablets and laptops. As companies race to build powerful AI systems and data centres, they are purchasing massive quantities of these chips, pushing prices sharply higher.

Cook said Apple is facing pressure from suppliers as available stock gets redirected toward AI-focused hardware. He pointed out that the company is dealing with both supply constraints and rising costs, especially in the DRAM memory market that is increasingly being reserved for AI servers.

“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” Cook said. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line.”

Industry estimates suggest memory and storage chip prices have increased several times over since major technology firms began expanding AI investments. Even Apple, known for its strong supply-chain management and buying power, is now finding it difficult to avoid the impact.

Which Apple products will get expensive?

Apple has not revealed exactly which products will see price increases or when the changes will take effect. However, the report suggests Macs and iPads could be among the first categories to be affected. Apple recently increased the starting price of the Mac Mini, hinting at what could be coming across its wider portfolio.

The next major Apple launch is expected in September with the arrival of the iPhone 18 series, which is also rumoured to include the company's first foldable iPhone. While Apple has not linked the upcoming lineup to the planned price hikes, analysts believe future iPhones could carry higher price tags if component costs continue to rise.

Research firm TechInsights estimates that maintaining Apple's current profit margins could require adding roughly $270 to the price of a future iPhone Pro model. The company also notes that demand for memory used in AI servers is expected to remain strong for years, keeping pressure on consumer electronics makers.

The development may disappoint buyers who were waiting for the iPhone 18 launch in the hope of getting the iPhone 17 series at a lower price. Apple usually cuts prices of older iPhone models after introducing a new generation, but the planned price increases could limit the size of those reductions this year. As a result, the iPhone 17 lineup may not see the kind of discounts that Apple customers have become accustomed to after new launches.

Cook described the current situation as something he has never witnessed in decades of working in the technology supply chain. "This is a hundred-year flood," he said. "I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years."

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