Tim Cook Says Apple Price Increases Are 'Unavoidable' Due to Memory Costs

[IIGS User]

This time next year both RAM and gas will be cheap.

Bubbles can only last for a certain period of time before they squeeze too hard and demand shrinks. When the AI bubble bursts (and it will, it’s not IF it’s WHEN) RAM and processors will become dirt cheap.

Off topic but not totally. The demand reduction brought about by high oil prices has permanently taken a large portion of said demand off the table long term. Mainly China. Which is swinging hard towards electric vehicles now, especially since they are government subsidized.

Unfortunately they’re planing on burning MORE coal to charge these electric cars. It’s not about the environment, it’s about energy independence for China.

 

[Todd Fisher]

That's all fine, whatever. At the same time, my current iPhone 16 Pro Max and my MacBook Air M2 100% meet my needs for probably some years to come. In the past, I would be excited to upgrade my devices, but at this point? Whatever. I don't need to be on the bleeding edge. So yeah, Apple, just raise your prices, so that you can keep your 40% return. Whatever. IDGAF.

 

[btrach144]

I love UniFi. They have a memory surcharge they add on and even a tariff add-on. The prices of their equipment have remained the same.

This gives hope that they will keep their hardware at the standard MSRP once RAM pricing settles down.

 

[thelion7]

Apple is raising its prices to offset the high cost of memory and storage, CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal. Apple is no longer able to absorb the increased prices and will need to pass some of the cost on to consumers.

"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," said Cook. "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 say which products will get price increases or how much pricing will go up. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max coming in September could be more expensive than the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Prices on iPads and Macs could go up in the near future.

Apple already raised the price of the Mac mini from $599 to $799 by eliminating its lowest-tier model. Apple has also eliminated several higher-tier Mac mini and Mac Studio options.

Growing demand for memory and storage chips from AI companies has led to chip shortages and higher costs. The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple will need to increase device costs "substantially" to maintain its current profit margins given the cost of memory chips and SSDs. Research firm TechInsights claims Apple will need to make the iPhone 18 Pro around $270 more expensive to keep its existing profit margin.

Apple is struggling more with memory chips, but storage chips are also an issue. "There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases," Cook told The Wall Street Journal. Cook said Apple will use its cash to increase memory supply, but he did not give details on what that means.

Apple does not plan to create its own memory and storage factories. "We can't do everything," Cook said. "We know what we're good at."

While memory chip makers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are increasing production capacity, much of that added capacity will prioritize server chips. Demand for consumer-device chips is expected to continue to outpace supply. At the same time, Apple needs to increase the DRAM in its devices to support new AI features. Cook likened the memory shortages to a hundred-year flood. "I've never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years," he said.

Apple is one of the largest purchasers of memory and storage worldwide, but it is likely reluctant to make the same deals AI companies do. Those deals involve signing multi-year agreements with a large cash prepayment.

Multiple companies have already raised their prices, including Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, and Dell.


Article Link: Tim Cook Says Apple Price Increases Are 'Unavoidable' Due to Memory Costs

Not sure if it was mentioned in another article but with Apple splitting the pro and standard iPhone launches across fall and spring could help device sales not cannibalise each other and it means they can manage SoC supplies better.

But is it possible this decision also helps with RAM and storage too?

Focus what resources you can on the pros first, let everyone who wants one in the initial rush get one, then ramp down pros and ramp up regular iphones production to service the more general market.

Because I do feel pro phones are for professionals and enthusiasts who want to get the latest whenever they can.

But the standard users are less likely to upgrade and will just give it a few years and when their old phone is haggard and tired.

They will see what’s available, check the price / contracts and pick one.

Not always knowing the ins and outs of the device only that it’s definitely better than their old one.

 

[Menthol]

Im planning on replacing my 2020 iMac with a MacStudio later this year. The. iMac has 64 GB / 4 TB and so should the Studio. Buying the old modell ist not really on option. It would be fast enough, sure, but I would probably use one or two years of software updates. I also could keep the iMac for one or two more years, but who knows if memory prices decreased by then.

Loose loose situation in this case

I'm in the same boat exactly, with a 2020 iMac that has been having some glitches. I'm hanging on for an M5 Mac Studio, and don't really have any choice. I also have an iPhone 12 Pro ... sigh.

Gonna be an expensive autumn.

 

[klasma]

The answer seems to be less RAM and more efficient computers. Which Apple is well placed to take advantage of.

That’s a difficult proposition for on-device Apple Intelligence.

 

[JonathanX64]

Or when the AI bubble pops and that might happen sooner.

There is no bubble, only the buildout of critical infrastructure necessary for humanity to survive (and thrive).

Like, what's that "popping" even supposed to mean? OpenAI or Anthropic failing? But if that happens, people will need even more compute to train the next frontier-level models...

Anyway, $MU and $SNDK are undervalued.

 

[klasma]

Or when the AI bubble pops and that might happen sooner.

Unlikely to happen before there’s some other new exciting thing shareholders can pump their money into.

 

[Anonymous123]

Meanwhile, Apple continues to see record profits:

Apple Reports Record-Breaking 2Q 2026 Results: $29.6B Profit on $111.2B Revenue

Apple today announced financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2026, which corresponds to the first calendar quarter of the year. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $111.2 billion and net quarterly profit of $29.6 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $95.4...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Cmd031304]

I'm in the same boat exactly, with a 2020 iMac that has been having some glitches. I'm hanging on for an M5 Mac Studio, and don't really have any choice. I also have an iPhone 12 Pro ... sigh.

Gonna be an expensive autumn.

Do you really need a Mac Studio when a 2020 iMac suffices right now? In this case it might be wiser to get an M4 Mac Mini.

 

[BillyJoeJimBob]

The prices will never come down. Even after the AI race is suddenly won: The new manufacturing plants built to address the "shortages" will collapse over a glut of chips that nobody will need. Apple will phase out personal computing: Apple is interested in shopping/social media lifestyle products, not manufacturing products actual creative work.

 

[Leobreaker]

Hopefully this will drive good low-end options (Neo, 17e) and also have companies focus on efficiency more rather than raw power.

 

[Cmd031304]

There is no bubble, only the buildout of critical infrastructure necessary for humanity to survive (and thrive).

Like, what's that "popping" even supposed to mean? OpenAI or Anthropic failing? But if that happens, people will need even more compute to train the next frontier-level models...

Anyway, $MU and $SNDK are undervalued.

I think you are overestimating the importance and capabilities of LLM's, just like many investors. There are some tasks where they are useful, but they cannot do everything that people think they can.

 

[mario-64]

Wonder if the increase will be just for new products or existing products as well? Debating on whether to upgrade my iPad Pro now or wait for M6.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Meanwhile, Apple continues to see record profits:

Apple Reports Record-Breaking 2Q 2026 Results: $29.6B Profit on $111.2B Revenue

Apple today announced financial results for the second fiscal quarter of 2026, which corresponds to the first calendar quarter of the year. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $111.2 billion and net quarterly profit of $29.6 billion, or $2.01 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $95.4...

www.macrumors.com

And those profits and margins are what will allow Apple to not increase prices as much as they otherwise would. Yes, Apple could continue to eat all the price increases, but public businesses also have to think about shareholder return. You and I don't want to pay more, but shareholders (including me) benefit.

Apple really is in a bind here. RAM and storage costs (plus everything else -- CPU, etc.) are crazy now. Apple didn't get to where it is by never passing on its price increases to customers.

 

[netwalker]

The article forgot to mention how high the profit margin currently is. God forbid that would go down a notch.

 

[Johnny London]

This is Apple’s way to say that the CPI lags behind the PPI, which is a fact: Producers actually absorb a lot of inflation up to a point.

 

[Brookzy]

And just like that, sales will rocket for the next however long before the price rises. Clever!

 

[Momento_Mori]

😂😂😂 Oh Apple …. A trillion dollar company can’t give up a few millions in profits … mmm just an incentive to keep products longer before upgrading. Honestly you’re helping us save money in the long term.

 

[GizmoDVD]

Are we having fun yet?

 

[Sowelu]

Or, Apple can shave a percent off their profit margins.

Let's all thank the AI tech bros for screwing the consumer tech market (and many other things I'd get in trouble for listing here) so that they can fast-path us to dystopia as they continue to pass billions back and forth to each other.

 

[Kriss_De_Valnor]

Not good, not good at all 🙁
I'm planning to buy a MBP 16 next spring.

****en AI.

 

[thadoggfather]

Glad I updated from 15 M2 to 15 M5 MBA 24GB/1TB now instead of holding out, and at a great significant sale price too.

 

[jimbobb24]

"Apple already raised the price of the Mac mini from $599 to $799 by eliminating its lowest-tier model."
This sentence is nonsense. What you meant to say was:
"Apple removed the lowest model of the Mac mini raising the minimum price of available Mac mini models"

 

[JPack]

Funny how some people still think AI is a "bubble."

Those people probably thought smartphones were gimmicks and are still waiting for fax machines to make a comeback.