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Apple Inc. is preparing to increase prices on its products as rising costs of memory and storage chips squeeze the global electronics supply chain, CEO Tim Cook has said.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Cook attributed the pressure to a sharp surge in demand for memory chips driven largely by the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres, which has intensified competition for limited semiconductor supply.
“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 Apple chief said the company is facing rising costs across both DRAM and storage markets, noting that manufacturers are increasingly diverting output toward high-bandwidth memory used in AI infrastructure, further tightening availability for consumer electronics.
“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” he added. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line.”
Industry groups representing automakers, retailers, and electronics manufacturers have already warned that persistent shortages in memory chips could trigger broader price increases across consumer goods and disrupt global supply chains.
Cook, who is expected to hand over leadership to John Ternus in September, did not specify which Apple products would be affected or how significant any price adjustments might be.
He also referenced Apple’s upcoming product cycle, including reports of a foldable iPhone expected in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, though he declined to link pricing decisions directly to those launches.
On supply strategy, Cook said Apple is prepared to deploy its financial resources to stabilise component availability.
“We’re willing to use our balance sheet to help be a part of the solution,” he said, while stressing that expanding overall semiconductor capacity remains essential.
However, he ruled out Apple entering chip manufacturing for memory or storage, despite its strong internal silicon capabilities.
Cook also noted that policy considerations, including restrictions affecting access to Chinese semiconductor firms, should remain flexible. “Everything needs to be on the table,” he said, adding that supply options should be broadly assessed.
