In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently acknowledged that price increases across the company’s product lineup may be difficult to avoid as memory and storage component costs continue to climb globally. Keep on reading to get to know why Apple could raise prices, which devices may be affected first and what analysts are predicting for upcoming products.
According to the report, the Cupertino-based tech giant is facing the same challenge that has already started affecting parts of the smartphone and PC industry: a sharp rise in the cost of memory chips. These components, particularly DRAM and NAND flash storage, have become increasingly expensive as AI companies and data centre operators race to secure supply for large-scale artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Cook described the situation as “unavoidable” but stopped short of confirming exactly which devices would see higher prices or when those increases would arrive.
But Industry analysts believe Macs and iPads may feel the impact before Apple’s next flagship smartphone launch. Since the iPhone 18 Pro lineup is not expected until September, the iPhone maker has more flexibility with its smartphone pricing. Macs and iPads, however, follow different release schedules and could see adjustments sooner.
The numbers behind the price pressure are quite massive. According to TechInsights data cited by The Wall Street Journal, memory prices are expected to rise dramatically compared to last year. The report suggests that the cost of the memory used inside Apple’s next-generation devices could be several times higher than in previous generations.
Analysts estimate that the bill of materials for a future iPhone 18 Pro could rise substantially, driven largely by memory costs. Some projections suggest Apple may need to increase prices to maintain existing profit margins, though final pricing decisions remain unknown.
Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also reportedly suggested that hardware upgrades, including a redesigned camera system, could add further pressure to production costs.
For consumers planning an upgrade, the message is becoming increasingly clear. The combination of rising memory prices, growing AI demand and more expensive hardware components is creating a challenging environment not just for Apple, but for the broader technology industry as well.
