Apple to raise prices as RAM costs surge
What's the story
Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the tech giant will be raising prices, owing to the skyrocketing costs of storage chips and memory. The move comes as the AI industry continues to consume memory at an unprecedented rate, pushing up costs. "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," Cook told The Wall Street Journal in a recent interview.
Price impact
'Doing our best to mitigate huge increases'
Cook acknowledged the financial strain posed by rising memory costs, saying, "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." However, he did not elaborate on how much prices would increase or which products would be affected.
Launch details
Price increases may affect Macs and iPads
Apple's next major product launch is expected in September, with the iPhone 18 Pro range taking center stage. The company could also unveil a new foldable iPhone. Price hikes for Macs and iPads may hit consumers before September. Cook did not confirm whether the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro would see a price hike from its predecessor's $1,099 tag but noted that "we definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products."