Months ahead of Apple’s expected iPhone 18 lineup release, Apple CEO Tim Cook is preparing consumers for a price hike.
Cook toldThe Wall Street Journal that, “unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” stating that the company has faced rising costs on memory and storage chips used in its products. “We’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable,” Cook told the publication.
Read more: What Is RAMageddon? Why AI Is Making Laptops and Phones More Expensive
The latest rumors indicate the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models could arrive as early as September, potentially alongside a rumored foldable iPhone at a starting cost of more than $2,000. For reference, in 2007, an 8GB first-generation iPhone would have run you as little as $399. (That’s about $637 in 2026 dollars.)
The timing of the rumored launch coincides with John Ternus taking over as Apple CEO on Sept. 1, as Tim Cook steps down. Cook didn’t clarify when price increases would occur or on which products, but memory and storage chips are used in every Apple device.
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The price increase can largely be tied to the AI boom. As more AI data centers are being built around the world, they not only consume massive amounts of water and electricity but also require a huge amount of memory and storage. This has created a strong demand for the same type of chips used in phones, laptops, smart wearables and more electronics. Although the demand is clearly surging, the supply is still struggling to catch up.
Apple isn’t the only company affected. These higher costs could continue on everyday tech products well into 2028.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that rising costs on memory and storage chips have become unsustainable: We have been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.
The AI boom. New AI data centers consume massive amounts of memory and storage, creating strong demand for the same chips used in phones, laptops and wearables while supply struggles to catch up.
Higher costs could continue on everyday tech products well into 2028. Apple is not the only company affected.
The rumored iPhone 18 launch timing coincides with John Ternus taking over as Apple CEO on Sept. 1, as Tim Cook steps down.
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