Apple CEO Says Product Prices Will Rise, iPhone 18 Affected?

Amidst an intensifying global shortage of memory and storage chips, Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that price increases for Apple devices are becoming unavoidable. This was revealed by Cook during a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

He disclosed that the surge in demand for memory chips from artificial intelligence (AI) companies has created a supply crisis unlike anything he has witnessed throughout his career. “I have never seen anything like this in any field in over 40 years. Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said, as reported by ABC on Saturday (20/06/2026).

Cook’s statement comes ahead of the launch of the iPhone 18 series, which is scheduled for release at the end of this year. However, Cook did not specify when these price increases would take effect or which specific product lines would be affected.

“We have done our utmost to mitigate the impact of the rising costs being passed on to us and have tried to protect customers from these increases. However, this situation is no longer sustainable,” said Cook.

Cook, who is set to step down from his position as Apple CEO on 1 September, noted that the rising costs of memory and storage chips, driven by demand from AI servers, have made it difficult for Apple to maintain profit margins.

While he did not disclose the exact magnitude of the price hikes, technology research firm TechInsights estimates that the price of the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro could increase by more than US$200. With such an increase, the device’s price is expected to reach approximately US$1,299.

“Supply is becoming increasingly limited as consumer device demand remains high and memory manufacturers are imposing very large price increases. We need memory prices and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That is the core of the problem,” said Cook.

Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly considering a major change to the launch schedule for its next-generation iPhone. According to recent reports from supply chain sources, the standard iPhone 18 could potentially be launched in the spring of 2026, earlier than Apple’s tradition of introducing new iPhones every September.