Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly stated last week that driven by the AI craze, DRAM and NAND memory chips are experiencing severe shortages and skyrocketing prices. This impact on the supply chain has made price increases for Apple products "inevitable." Well-known technology reporter Mark Gurman later added on the X platform,This round of price increases will not be delayed until the autumn new machine launch, but is likely to be implemented in the near future. The timing may be connected with the upcoming back-to-school season promotions, which will buffer the market reaction to a certain extent.
Market research firm TechInsights estimates,If Apple passes on all cost increases to the terminal selling price, the starting price of the next-generation iPhone 18 Pro may rise to US$1,299, and the Mac and iPad product lines will also face price adjustment pressure.
Cook further explained that Apple is under more prominent pressure in the field of memory chips, and the supply of memory chips is also tight. Although the company plans to use cash reserves to ensure memory supply, it has no plans to build its own memory or storage factories.
As AI functions such as Apple Intelligence continue to be implemented,iPhone, iPad, and Mac have rising demands for high-bandwidth memory and high-speed storage, which means that future new product pricing strategies will be under long-term pressure, and the trend of price increases will be difficult to reverse in the short term.
