Tim Cook has told consumers to brace for higher prices on Apple products. The outgoing chief executive described the cost surge of memory chips as “unsustainable” and warned that price increases were “unavoidable”.
Cook, who will step down in September after 15 years as Apple’s CEO, told the Wall Street Journal that the company had tried to shield customers from the rising costs but could no longer absorb them. “We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us,” he said. “There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases.”
“Apple CEO Tim Cook warns price rises are 'unavoidable' as memory chip costs surge due to AI boom and Iran war.”
The price of Ram – typically one of the cheapest computer components – has more than doubled since October 2025, fuelled by the artificial intelligence boom and the war in Iran, which has disrupted the global supply of helium, a gas crucial to making semiconductors.
Cook declined to say when the price rises would take effect or which products would be affected, leaving uncertainty over whether the iPhone 18, expected in September, would cost more. Research firm Omdia predicts the average selling price of smartphones will rise by about 20% in 2026 to an all-time high. Omdia analyst Chiew Le Xuan said Apple’s new phones are likely to cost up to $150 more than the iPhone 17s as the company upgrades specifications to support new AI features. “This is the new pricing reality, not a temporary spike,” he added. Most smartphone brands have already raised prices, pulled back on promotions or cut specifications to protect profit margins, Chiew said.
Separately, US President Donald Trump announced that Apple had agreed to work with chipmaker Intel to manufacture 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. The Trump administration took a 10% stake in Intel in August last year. Intel’s shares rose more than 10% when US stock markets opened on Thursday.
The BBC has contacted Apple and Intel for comment.