Apple to Raise Product Prices Amid Soaring Memory Chip Costs

Technology giant Apple plans to raise product prices in the near future, a move prompted by soaring costs of memory chip components used in its devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who will soon end his tenure, told The Wall Street Journal that the price increases are now unavoidable, describing the current production cost situation as having reached an unsustainable point. Cook did not specify when the price adjustments would take effect or which models would be impacted, leaving uncertainty also hanging over the launch of the iPhone 18 scheduled for September. Memory chips are vital components in smart devices like phones, but the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence in recent months has triggered a drastic surge in demand, driving up global component prices. “We are doing our utmost to mitigate the massive cost increases being imposed on us and we try to protect customers from the impact. However, the situation is now unsustainable,” Cook said, as quoted by WSJ on Thursday (18/6/2026). Cook explained there is currently an imbalance between supply and demand. On one hand, consumers want new devices, but on the other, memory manufacturers are significantly raising prices due to limited stock. Beyond AI demand, geopolitical factors are worsening the situation. Conflict in Iran is disrupting global supplies of helium, a gas crucial to the semiconductor manufacturing process, adding further cost burdens to overall chip production. The news of planned price increases comes amid a leadership transition at Apple, with Cook scheduled to be succeeded by John Ternus as CEO in September after 15 years at the helm. Apple has so far shown strong sales performance, with device sales growing 17 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, driven by high demand in the Chinese market. The company had already raised the price of its compact Mac Mini computer by about US$200 earlier this year. “We urgently need memory prices and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That is the bottom line,” Cook concluded.