Memory Supply Crunch: Cook Confirms Apple Products Will See Price Hikes

(CNA, San Francisco, 17th - International News) Tim Cook, CEO of U.S. tech giant Apple, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the company plans to raise the prices of its products to offset the rising costs of memory and storage chips.

The surge in artificial intelligence (AI) has dramatically increased demand for data centers, forcing consumer electronics companies into fierce competition for increasingly scarce critical components, causing related chip prices to soar.

Several industry groups representing automakers, retailers, and electronics companies issued warnings earlier this month, stating that the rising demand for memory chips could lead to significant price increases for U.S. consumer goods and disrupt supply chain operations.

Cook told the WSJ: "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable. We are doing our best to absorb the massive cost hikes passed on to us and have consistently tried to protect consumers from the impact of rising prices, but the situation has become unsustainable."

Cook, who is set to hand over the CEO role to John Ternus in September, did not disclose when the price hikes would take effect, how much they would be, or which products might be affected.

Reports indicate that Apple plans to launch its first foldable iPhone in September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.

Cook told the WSJ that memory and storage costs are concerns for the company, particularly the DRAM market. He noted that more production capacity is being allocated to high-bandwidth memory (HBM), primarily used in AI servers.

"Supply is decreasing while consumers still want to buy devices, and memory makers are significantly passing on price increases. We do need memory prices and supply to return to a more reasonable level for consumer products. That's the key point," he said.

In the interview, Cook clarified that Apple is prepared to use its cash reserves to increase memory supply but did not reveal specific details. He said, "We are willing to use our balance sheet to be part of the solution. Clearly, the market needs more capacity."

Cook further clarified that Apple has no plans to leverage its cash strength and chip design expertise to build its own memory and storage chip factories. (Translation: Chen Yuting) 1150618