Estimates note that Apple would need to add about $270 to the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro to maintain profit margins|Dick Thomas Johnson|CC BY 2.0
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that price increases are unavoidable for its products due to the soaring costs of DRAM memory and NAND storage chips.
Chip prices have quadrupled since last year due to AI demand, and research firm TechInsights estimates Apple would need to add about $270 to the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro to maintain profit margins. It could drive the price tag to $1,299.
Cook noted he has never seen a commodity price swing like this in over 40 years, calling it a “hundred-year flood.”
Morgan Stanley estimates a 15% bump for smartphone and PC prices in the US this year.