It's being called RAMageddon, and Tim Cook just admitted Apple can't escape its grip.
The outgoing Apple CEO revealed in a candid interview with the Wall Street Journal that price increases on iPhones, Macs, and iPads are now unavoidable — thanks to AI's demand for memory chips and a worldwide shortage that's sent costs skyrocketing fourfold in just one year.
"Unsustainable," Cook called it. Apple has been trying to absorb the cost, but the math no longer works.
The iPhone is almost certainly the target. Apple is expected to launch its next-gen iPhone in September, giving the company the perfect moment to announce price hikes. The current iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 — but research firm TechInsights estimates Apple may need to add another $270 to each Pro model just to keep profit margins intact.
That's nearly 25% more expensive.
This isn't Cook's first warning. Back in April, fresh off posting record quarterly sales, he flagged that higher chip costs could dent Apple's bottom line. Incoming CEO John Ternus echoed the concern that same month.
The irony is that AI hasn't exactly been Apple's friend lately. The company already settled a $250 million false advertising lawsuit earlier this year — penalties for promising AI features two years ago that never materialized. Cook's team is now trying to rebuild trust with announced upgrades to Siri and on-device processing at their recent Worldwide Developers Conference.
But all that on-device AI processing demands even more memory. Which means more costs. Which means even pricier iPhones.
Apple fans are about to learn a hard lesson: innovation comes at a cost, especially when the whole industry is racing to add AI to everything.
