Apple's outgoing chief executive, Tim Cook, has warned that price increases for the company's products are “unavoidable” after a surge in the cost of memory chips, driven by the artificial intelligence boom, pushed the situation to an “unsustainable” level.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Cook said Apple had been “trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.” He did not say when prices would rise or which products would be affected, nor whether the iPhone 18, expected in September, would cost more.
“Apple's outgoing CEO Tim Cook says price increases are "unavoidable" as memory chip costs surge due to AI demand.”
The price of Ram – typically one of the cheapest computer components – has more than doubled since October 2025. In addition to soaring AI demand, the war in Iran has disrupted the global supply of helium, a gas crucial in making semiconductors, further adding to the cost of chips.
Later, US President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that Apple had agreed to work with chipmaker Intel to make its chips in the US. “I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America,” he said. In August last year, the Trump administration announced the federal government would take a 10% stake in Intel. Intel's shares rose more than 10% when US stock markets opened on Thursday.
“We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us,” said Cook, who is due to be replaced by John Ternus as Apple's CEO in September after 15 years in the role. “There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases. We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That's the bottom line.”
According to research firm Omdia, the average selling price of smartphones globally is expected to rise by around 20% in 2026 to an all-time high. Apple's new phones are likely to cost up to $150 more than the iPhone 17s, as the firm is expected to upgrade their specifications to support new AI features, said Omdia's smartphone market analyst Chiew Le Xuan. Most smartphone brands have already raised prices, pulled back on promotions or cut specifications to protect profit margins, he added. “This is the new pricing reality, not a temporary spike.”