Apple Has No Choice, Tim Cook Says: Device Prices Are Going Up

Apple is getting ready to raise prices across its lineup, and the company is putting the blame squarely on memory and storage chip costs. CEO Tim Cook confirmed the plan in an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal.

“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.”

The root of the problem is AI companies buying up so much memory and storage that everyone else is left scrambling and paying a lot more for what’s left. According to the Journal, Apple may need to raise prices “substantially” just to protect its current profit margins. Research firm TechInsights estimates the iPhone 18 Pro alone could need a price bump of around $270 US to keep those margins intact.

Memory chips seem to be hitting Apple harder than storage, though both are 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 Journal. He said Apple plans to use its cash reserves to help secure more memory supply, though he didn’t get into specifics on what that actually looks like.

Don’t expect Apple to start building its own chip factories though. “We can’t do everything,” Cook said. “We know what we’re good at.” Cook compared the situation to a once in a lifetime disaster. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years,” he said.

Factor in the weaker Canadian dollar, that means prices locally are going to be more expensive than ever before. You better start saving up for the iPhone 18 lineup and a foldable iPhone.