Apple will raise the prices of its products because the cost of memory chips has surged – a situation the company’s outgoing chief executive, Tim Cook, has described as “unsustainable”.
Cook told the Wall Street Journal that the price increases were “unavoidable” as huge cost increases were being passed on to the firm. He did not say when prices would rise or which products would be affected, leaving uncertainty over whether the iPhone 18, expected in September, will cost more.
“Apple to raise prices because rising memory chip costs fuelled by AI boom have become unsustainable, says Tim Cook.”
The price of Ram – typically one of the cheapest computer components – has more than doubled since October 2025. The boom in artificial intelligence has driven up demand for the memory chips essential in smartphones, while the war in Iran has disrupted the global supply of helium, a gas crucial in making semiconductors.
“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,” Cook said. “There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases.”
The average selling price of smartphones globally is expected to rise by around 20% in 2026 to an all-time high, according to research firm Omdia. Apple’s new phones are likely to cost up to $150 more than the iPhone 17s, as the firm upgrades specifications to support new AI features, said Omdia analyst Chiew Le Xuan.
“This is the new pricing reality, not a temporary spike,” he added, noting that most smartphone brands have already raised prices, pulled back on promotions or cut specifications to protect profit margins.
Cook, who is due to be replaced by John Ternus as Apple’s CEO in September after 15 years in the role, said: “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line.”
Separately, US President Donald Trump said Apple had agreed to work with chipmaker Intel to make its chips in the United States. “I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Intel’s shares rose more than 10% when US stock markets opened on Thursday. In August last year, the Trump administration announced that the federal government would take a 10% stake in Intel.
The BBC has contacted Apple and Intel for comment.
With Cook’s departure imminent and prices set to rise, the question is whether Apple can maintain its premium image as the cost of its core products climbs.