Tim Cook says price hike on Apple products unavoidable as AI chip costs surge

Tim CookApple Chief Executive Tim Cook has said rising demand for memory chips driven by the artificial intelligence boom will make product price increases unavoidable, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal.“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook told the newspaper, adding that Apple had been trying to absorb the impact of higher component costs but that doing so had become “unsustainable.”Cook did not indicate when the increases would take effect, how large they would be, or which products would be affected.

Apple’s next major product launch is expected in September with the iPhone 18 lineup.“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” he added.According to The Wall Street Journal, research firm TechInsights estimates Apple would need to raise the price of its iPhone Pro model by about $270 to maintain current profit margins.AI infrastructure boom fuels chip demandThe surge in AI infrastructure spending has sharply increased demand for memory chips and RAM, key components used across a wide range of electronic devices.

The report noted that memory chip prices have risen by at least 50% quarter-on-quarter since late 2025 as companies race to build AI data centres.Cook, who spent much of his career managing electronics supply chains before joining Apple, said he had never witnessed such a dramatic increase in component costs, describing the situation as a “hundred-year flood.”