Apple is considering price increases across some of its products as soaring memory and storage chip costs continue to pressure the technology giant’s margins, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has revealed.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook said the company can no longer fully absorb the sharp rise in component costs caused by the global artificial intelligence boom, which has intensified competition for critical memory supplies.
The surge in AI-related infrastructure spending has dramatically increased demand for memory chips used in data centers and AI servers. As a result, consumer electronics manufacturers are facing shrinking supplies and escalating costs for key components, particularly memory and storage chips.
“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook told the publication. “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.”
While Cook did not specify when price increases could take effect, how much products may become more expensive, or which devices would be affected, his comments suggest Apple is preparing for a prolonged period of elevated component costs.
The warning comes after several industry groups representing automakers, retailers and electronics manufacturers cautioned that growing demand for memory chips could lead to higher consumer prices and disrupt supply chains across multiple sectors.
AI Boom Creating Memory Shortage
According to Cook, the primary concern lies in the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) market, where manufacturers are increasingly allocating production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI servers.
“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” Cook said. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line.”
The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has become a major driver of semiconductor demand worldwide, with technology companies investing billions of dollars in data centers and AI computing systems. This has created intense competition for advanced memory chips, leaving consumer electronics manufacturers facing tighter supply conditions.
Apple Ready To Use Cash Reserves
Cook indicated that Apple is willing to use its substantial cash reserves to help address supply constraints and support expansion efforts within the memory industry.
“We’re willing to use our balance sheet to help be a part of the solution,” he said. “Obviously, more capacity is needed.”
However, he clarified that Apple has no intention of entering the memory manufacturing business itself. Despite its growing expertise in semiconductor design through its custom Apple Silicon chips, the company does not plan to build memory or storage chip fabrication facilities.
Foldable iPhone Launch Approaches
The comments come at a significant moment for Apple, which is reportedly preparing to unveil its first foldable iPhone later this year alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max lineup.
Any increase in memory and storage costs could be particularly relevant as next-generation devices continue to require more advanced components to support AI features, improved performance and larger storage capacities.
Cook’s remarks also arrive as he prepares to step down as CEO in September, with current hardware chief John Ternus expected to take over leadership of the company.
For consumers, the warning signals that the era of stable smartphone and laptop pricing may face fresh pressure as AI-driven demand reshapes the global semiconductor supply chain.