Apple is set to become more expensive, and CEO Tim Cook is not hiding the fact. In an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook confirmed that the company plans to raise prices across its product lineup, calling the increases “unavoidable” as the cost of memory and storage chips surges worldwide. He declined to specify which devices would be affected first or by how much, telling the WSJ only, “We’re still working through that.” However, analysts indicate that the squeeze is real, and Macs and iPads could see higher prices before the next iPhone even launches.
The Chip Crunch No One Saw Coming This Fast
The trigger is a global shortage of two memory components: DRAM and NAND flash storage. AI data centers, racing to train and run large language models, are paying a premium for these chips, prompting suppliers like Samsung and Micron to shift production toward enterprise customers and away from consumer gadgets. The result is a price spike that affects everything from laptops to phones.
According to TechInsights research cited by the WSJ, prices for these chips are projected to quadruple by this fall compared with a year ago. Apple paid roughly Rs 3,250 (about $39) for the 12GB of DRAM in the iPhone 17 Pro; in the 18 Pro, that figure could climb to around $145. Storage tells a similar story, jumping from about $13 to $51 for the base 256GB.
Why Your Next MacBook Might Sting Before Your Next iPhone
Here’s the twist. Apple’s next big launch—the iPhone 18 Pro—is not expected until September, which gives the timeline some breathing room. Macs and iPads run on a different release cadence, and the WSJ reports that price increases for those devices could arrive sooner. That makes them the likely first casualties of the chip crunch, well ahead of the headline iPhone reveal.
The iPhone math is still worth watching. The WSJ ran the numbers and estimated that a base iPhone 17 Pro costs Apple about $582 to build. For the 18 Pro, that climbs roughly 25% to $726, driven almost entirely by the pricier memory. To hold its 47% margin, Apple would need to charge $1,371—but because it prefers round, standardized pricing, the starting tag would more likely settle at $1,299, up $200 from today.
And that estimate may be conservative. Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects a redesigned camera system to cost Apple about 50% more, which could push the iPhone 18 Pro’s starting price closer to $1,399.
Cook framed all of this as a matter of when, not if. For Apple buyers eyeing an upgrade, the message is simple: the wait won’t make it cheaper.
