Apple has confirmed that some of its products will become more expensive in the future as ongoing memory supply issues continue to impact manufacturing costs.
The announcement came directly from Apple CEO Tim Cook during an interview with The Wall Street Journal, where he described the upcoming price increases as “unavoidable.”
According to Cook, Apple has spent months trying to absorb rising component costs and protect customers from higher prices, but the situation has reached a point where that is no longer sustainable.
“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said. “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 did not reveal when the price increases will take effect, how large they will be, or which specific products will be affected.
The timing is notable, however, as Apple’s next major hardware launch is expected to arrive in September with the debut of the iPhone 18 series, which is also rumored to include the company’s first foldable iPhone.
While future iPhones could be impacted, price increases for Macs and iPads may arrive sooner.
Apple already adjusted the pricing structure of the Mac mini last month. Rather than directly raising the price of existing configurations, the company removed the base storage option from the lineup, effectively increasing the starting price buyers would pay.
The latest comments suggest Apple could implement more direct hardware price increases moving forward.
RAM shortages are driving costs higher
Cook pointed to ongoing memory supply constraints as the primary reason behind the planned price hikes.
While both memory and storage costs are affecting Apple, he specifically highlighted the DRAM market, where demand from artificial intelligence companies has significantly increased.
The rapid growth of AI servers has driven up demand for high-bandwidth memory, reducing supply available for consumer electronics manufacturers.
According to Cook, memory suppliers are passing substantial price increases on to device makers.
“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” said Cook. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line.”
The comments suggest Apple is facing the same supply-chain pressures affecting much of the technology industry as AI infrastructure spending continues to accelerate.
Leadership changes and future products
The announcement also comes during a major transition period for Apple.
Cook is set to step down as CEO on September 1, with current hardware chief John Ternus scheduled to take over the role. Cook will remain with the company as Executive Chairman of the Board.
The price hike warning also follows the launch of Apple’s most affordable notebook yet, the MacBook Neo.
The budget-focused laptop ships with 8GB of RAM, a specification that has already generated discussion among consumers, especially as many modern iPhones, iPads, and Macs continue to increase memory capacity.
Some observers have suggested that if Apple is planning to charge more for future devices, it should also increase standard memory configurations. One popular reaction from readers argued that Apple should raise the base memory to 16GB RAM and 24GB RAM for Pro models if higher prices are indeed on the way.
For now, Apple has not confirmed whether the upcoming price adjustments will affect existing products, future releases, or both. The company has also not provided a timeline for when customers can expect the changes to begin.
What is clear is that rising memory costs have become a significant concern for Apple, and consumers may soon feel the impact when shopping for future iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices.