Apple may raise prices on iPhones, Macs, and other devices as AI data centers consume more of the memory chips used across the consumer electronics market.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal that rising costs of memory and storage chips have made price increases difficult to avoid. “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said, pointing to a supply crunch fueled by demand from AI data centers for high-bandwidth memory.
The pressure points to a widening hardware squeeze.
High-bandwidth memory used in AI servers is pulling supply away from traditional DRAM markets, leaving device makers to absorb higher component costs or pass them on to customers.
AI demand reshapes the memory market
According to Cook’s interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple plans to raise product prices to offset rising costs for memory and storage chips. Cook did not say when prices would increase, how much they would rise, or which Apple products would be affected.
Cook said Apple has tried to shield customers from rising component costs but can no longer absorb the full pressure.
“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 told the Journal, according to Reuters.
The pressure comes from a shift in chip demand.
AI data centers need large amounts of memory, particularly high-bandwidth memory, to support training and inference workloads. That demand has pulled supply toward AI infrastructure and away from parts of the consumer electronics market.
For Apple, the squeeze affects both memory and storage components. Cook said DRAM is a particular concern because more supply is being allocated to high-bandwidth memory for 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, according to Reuters.
“We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line,” Cook added.
The AI buildout reaches consumer devices
The pressure is not limited to Apple.
The BBC reported that Samsung has also warned that memory shortages could raise electronics prices, while TSMC has not ruled out price increases as its own costs rise.
Apple’s warning reflects a broader fight for memory supply.
AI companies and cloud providers are racing to secure chips for data centers, while consumer electronics companies still need memory and storage for phones, laptops, tablets, and other devices.
The same demand for AI data centers driving growth in cloud services and automation tools is also consuming the memory components used in phones, laptops, tablets, and other devices.
Apple weighs supply chain options
The timing could matter for Apple’s product roadmap.
Reuters highlighted that Apple is expected to release its first foldable iPhone in September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Higher component costs could affect pricing across premium devices, especially models with larger storage tiers.
Cook also suggested Apple may use its financial resources to help expand memory supply, though he did not provide details. He told the Journal that Apple is willing to use its balance sheet to help address the issue.
However, Cook clarified that Apple does not plan to build its own memory or storage factories. That leaves the company dependent on suppliers at a time when AI companies, cloud providers, and device makers are competing for the same critical components.
For businesses that buy Apple hardware at scale, higher prices could complicate refresh cycles and device budgets. Apple’s warning shows how the race to build AI infrastructure is beginning to spill into the cost of everyday devices, not just the servers that power AI systems.
For more on Apple’s latest software and AI updates, see our roundup of the 10 biggest Apple WWDC 2026 announcements, including Siri AI, watchOS 27, and more.