“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable.” That was Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking to The Wall Street Journal, delivering the clearest signal yet that the ongoing memory supply crisis will directly affect what consumers pay for iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Cook made clear that Apple has been trying to absorb the costs rather than pass them on, but that effort has reached its limits. “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 memory shortage driving Apple price increases
The core problem is that DRAM supply, already constrained, is being redirected toward high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers. Companies like Nvidia are now outbidding consumer electronics makers for limited output from Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Cook described the shortage as a “hundred-year flood.” “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years,” he said.
The numbers back that up. The 12GB LPDDR5X modules used in the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro have roughly doubled in price since early 2025, rising from around $30 to approximately $70. TechInsights analyst Mike Howard estimates DRAM prices will quadruple from 2023 levels by the end of 2026. He also estimates Apple could pay $57 more per unit for memory going into the base-model iPhone 18 compared to what it paid for the iPhone 17.
Apple buys memory for roughly 250 million iPhones per year and has historically held enough purchasing leverage to set favourable terms with suppliers. That position has eroded as the AI infrastructure build-out accelerates, leaving Apple competing for supply rather than directing it.
Apple has already made concrete pricing moves. The Mac mini now starts at $799, up from $599, after Apple eliminated its lowest-tier configuration. The new entry-level model ships with an M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Several higher-tier Mac mini and Mac Studio configurations have also been discontinued. Apple has also increased iCloud+ storage prices in select regions and previously raised the price of the HomePod mini in select European countries, signalling a broader willingness to pass rising costs on to customers.
Larger increases are still ahead. TechInsights estimates Apple would need to make the iPhone 18 Pro around $270 more expensive to maintain its current profit margins. The base iPhone 17 currently starts at $799. The WSJ separately reported that Apple may need to raise device costs “substantially.” Cook did not specify which products will see increases or by how much, but prices on iPads and Macs could also rise in the near future.
Cook said Apple plans to use its cash reserves to secure more memory supply, though he offered no specifics. He ruled out building its own memory and storage factories. “We can’t do everything,” he said. “We know what we’re good at.”
Apple is not alone in raising prices. Microsoft’s Surface price increase is one of several moves across the industry, with Samsung, Sony, and Dell also raising prices on their own hardware. Memory chip makers are expanding production capacity, but much of that added output will continue to serve the server market. Consumer device supply is expected to remain tight. IDC does not expect prices to return to 2025 levels even once the shortage eases, pointing to a structural shift rather than a temporary spike.
The announcement comes roughly 11 weeks before Cook steps down. John Ternus, currently Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering, takes over as CEO on September 1, 2026, with Cook moving to Executive Chairman. Ternus will preside over the iPhone 18 launch and whatever pricing decisions follow. Cook delivered the warning. How much of the increase Apple absorbs versus passes to buyers will define the opening chapter of what comes next.
