Tim Cook says higher iPhone price increase are 'unavoidable'
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| Credit: Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images |
We're still three months or more away from the unveiling of the iPhone 18, and outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook likely won't be the one to introduce it (given that John Ternus takes over in September).
But Cook has taken an extraordinary step — and arguably, taken one for Ternus — by warning consumers that this iPhone will be more expensive than its predecessors, thanks to an ongoing memory chip price crunch that won't end anytime soon.
SEE ALSO:Samsung warns memory shortage will be worse next year
"We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers," Cook told the Wall Street Journal in a phone interview.
"But the situation has become unsustainable ... the main point is, unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable."
Cook, who added that Apple had already been absorbing the cost of higher component prices in 2026, didn't specify which products would be more expensive, or by how much.
But with all eyes on the iPhone 18 launch this fall, it's likely Cook is preparing the ground for Apple's flagship product to pass on some of the extra component costs to customers — with increases as high as $200 above iPhone 17 prices.
SEE ALSO:The latest iPhone 18 news, leaks, and rumors
Apple is still one of the largest customers in the world for memory storage, but AI companies have muscled into the game. A company called Techinsights, cited by the Journal, notes that the memory and storage components inside the iPhone 18 Pro are likely to cost Apple an extra $150 for parts alone, compared to the iPhone 17.
A recent report claimed that the iPhone Pro 18 would keep its $1,099 price from the iPhone 17 Pro and that Apple would continue to absorb the difference.
Cook, always savvy about Apple's image in the media, appears to want to squash that rumor as soon as possible.
Higher prices are 'unsustainable' for consumers.
ReplyDeleteHigher prices are 'unsustainable' for consumers.
DeleteJust a tiny problem, everyone is increasing prices.
Deletethen they can all just not sell any. I could price my poo at 1 million dollars per ounce but if I have no buyers then it's just pie-in-the-sky.
DeleteWe should all just not buy RAM until the companies making them fuck off into bankrupcy or get real
When RAM prices come back down, will they lower the prices again?
ReplyDelete/doubt
Perfect. I was planning on not buying a new iphone. I love it when things work out.
ReplyDeleteI've recently been getting into "vintage" cameras, which really just means stuff from like 2008-2014 now and the top of the line cameras in that range are fantastic and still hold up today.
ReplyDeleteI feel like we're getting to a point where even moderately old tech is still perfectly workable for most people and I hope that folks see it not only as a cost saving thing but a environment thing, not having stuff end up in landfills and stopping demand for brand new devices is a net good thing.
Genuinely surprised it’s taken this long. Didn’t expect apple and reasonably priced memory upgrades to last forever.
ReplyDeleteDid you just put Apple and reasonably priced memory upgrades in the same sentence?
DeleteIt shocks me too. But at the RAM price peak if you wanted a high-memory system (especially for local AI) they were extremely competitive on price, often the best option due to availability too.
DeleteTim Apple means that PROFITS per unit are unsustainable unless Apple overcharges for the more expensive RAM.
ReplyDeleteAs a consumer, it's time to de-waste that e-waste.
ReplyDeleteI've been off the upgrade treadmill for a while. New phones just don't offer anything exciting anymore.
And they’re not going lower price once RAM supply catches up and pricing stabilize
ReplyDeleteNew tech being unpurchasable will lead to two things:
ReplyDelete• Ultra optimization to extend the life of current tech; or
• A market signal that wrongly assumes that consumers are not longer interested in everyday tech like phones and computers and switch to subscription like services for everything.
One hope is that when all this eventually comes crashing down, there is going to be a lot of cheap graphics cards and RAM to flood the market.
ReplyDeleteSurely, poor apple barely marking a cut on there phones have some mercy /s
ReplyDeleteThey need that 60% profit per phone
ReplyDeleteApple: "we're shoveling AI into our products whether you asked for it or not."
ReplyDeleteAlso Apple: "hey, we have to raise prices because of AI demand for RAM"
Were the prices not already raised?
ReplyDeleteThey’ve kept the iPhone at the same price for like 3-4 years now pretty sure
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DeleteApple directly contributed to this, so why don't you go fuck yourself Tim.
ReplyDeleteTheir Holy Crusade to get AI into the world is going to damage their bottom line, sales of new devices are going to drop very quickly. Between the price jump for new iphones, Android manufacturer's lowering ram and raising prices, and many people not wanting AI on their devices.....this should be entertaining to watch! 41% of Adults in the States distrust AI..... But the companies simply aren't listening
ReplyDeleteI would be good with never using AI if I could have cheap RAM, SSDs and GPUs again.
ReplyDeleteI guess there goes my plan to buy a new M5 Studio in the fall.
iPhone 15 Pro Max and PS5 pro holding firm until things normalize or that asteroid swings by a little too closely.
ReplyDeleteyeah, holding onto my 16pro as long as possible honestly. If a feature is deployed that makes worth upgrading a thing, i’ll cross that bridge but right now there’s nothing worth upgrading for.
ReplyDeleteWhen will they raise prices?
ReplyDeleteI’m guessing the pro and the fold are going to have some pretty eye watering price tags
ReplyDeleteI mean I can barely afford my daily medicines. But sure, Tim, go for it.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll be having an Iphone 16 for the next 15 years then
ReplyDeletewhy didn't these companies go against the hardware makers' decisions then?why didn't they criticize them publicly saying that this will lead to downfall of PCs/macs/smartphones? they had the power to prevent it
ReplyDeleteApple, just buy a damn company that makes RAM and SSDs. Jeez they are the most profitable company in the world and sitting on a pile of cash.
ReplyDeleteFuck apple. Their products are already over charged.
ReplyDeleteBut it's worth it for a cartoon of a dog eating a slice of pizza by the pool.
ReplyDeleteOr you could just do some homies a 'solid' and stop passing every increase in price to the consumer. Have you not made enough money Apple?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I live in a capitalist oubliette.
Or like you don't have to own an iPhone.
DeleteWhat Tim Cook really means “we’ve exhausted our cheap RAM supply… now we will hike it cost +20% because fuck you”
ReplyDeleteAfter years of ripping people off on ram, they should absorbe
ReplyDeleteWho wants to bet Apple is gonna release another malware update to make older models unusable only to pay less than 10% of the profit they make by doing so in fines.
ReplyDeleteSo Tim Apple (using the name he’s referred to by Trump, his personal hero), you have a program to send you all the stuff we bought a decade ago that no longer works due to planned obsolescence. And all the free stuff we “recycled” to you, didn’t help you with sustainability in the end? Well I’m shocked, shocked, I say.
ReplyDeleteRight, because the ram is what is making the Iphone so much worse every year and every update. /s
ReplyDeleteMy 17 pro max constantly freezes, it’s the worst iPhone I’ve ever had. I don’t feel like the iPhone has been innovative for a long long time, yet I feel stuck from being so used to this operating system and all of my photos, etc. The pricing and pointless annual new iPhones have been out of control. I’ve had an iPhone since 2011 after I switched from blackberry and I’m so over it.
ReplyDeleteSweet I can continue to not buy apple products (I know all tech are jacking up the prices across the board).
ReplyDeleteComment deleted by user
ReplyDeleteJust bought a 16 pro with 24gb of ram. I don’t do any heavy ram workloads (attorney, so really just a ton of document editing) but maybe I should have gone for 48…
ReplyDeleteWhat?!?! It has 8
DeleteEdit....and wait..... You're an attorney? You better learn how to read pal
It's possible they're referring to a 16" MBP w/ 24gb ram
DeleteHmmm... That would make more sense
DeleteTheir dream of an iPhone costing more than a new car getting closer to reality 👍
ReplyDeletePlease let me know where I can get a new car for 1300.
DeleteWhat is hyperbole
DeleteNot your forte.
DeleteOr you guys are mad because you fall asleep every night caressing your iPhone
DeleteNice band-aid. How about cancel a data centre or two? Or pull back the reins on AI? It would be nice to be able to afford a new PC again in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteApple don't have any AI data centers
DeleteDoesn’t matter when the top 10% float more than 50% of the economy. The bottom earners are not mad enough. We don’t matter anymore and have even less voice than before. We will suffer
ReplyDeleteAnd Apple consumers will gladly reach for their wallet to buy the next gen phone that is not really much different from their current phone. Apple should allow their customers to tick a box where they can pay Apple extra for nothing. I have no doubt many people would select it.
ReplyDeleteWhat you've just ranted applies to every phone manufacturer. Not looking too smart now are ya?
DeleteWrong again. Which is not a surprise because nearly everything said to me on this sub is wrong. My smart phone only cost me $99 and it does everything i need it to do. It's a few years old now. Doesn't get more pragmatic than that.
DeleteMeanwhile, the average Apple cult member spends a LOT more than that for nothing worth having. Hey, let's upgrade our phones every 2 years to keep up with the cool kids! Let's buy $1000 phones! Let's get a computers that cost nearly double a PC. Y'all are just throwing your money at Apple, LMAO
Dude shut up lmao.
DeleteI used a 2013 MacBook Pro until 2022 and the only reason I “upgraded” was because someone offered to buy me an M2 Air. The 2013 MacBook did (and continues) to work fine. Meanwhile, I’ve never owned a PC laptop that wasn’t bin material after three years.
I also used my iPhone X for 6 years before upgrading, and even then I didn’t really need to upgrade. Apple supports their devices far longer than other manufacturers which tend to drop support after 2 maybe 3 years. Apple pushes updates for their phones for 6-7 years.
Apple is pretty well unmatched in their device longevity.
TRIGGER WARNING -- THE FOLLOWING RESPONSE IS AI -- SEEK A SAFE SPACE !!!
DeleteAverage Upgrade Frequency for iPhone Users
The typical iPhone user upgrades their device every 2 to 3 years. This timeframe reflects a common trend among smartphone users, balancing the desire for new features with the practicality of cost.
Breakdown of Upgrade Cycles
Upgrade Frequency Percentage of Users
Every year 21%
Every 2 to 3 years Majority
Every 4 years or more Significant portion
This data indicates that while many users stick to a 2 to 3-year cycle, a notable minority opts for annual upgrades, often driven by a desire for the latest technology or features.Average Upgrade Frequency for iPhone Users.
The typical iPhone user upgrades their device every 2 to 3 years. This time frame reflects a common trend among smartphone users, balancing the desire for new features with the practicality of cost.
"Price increases are unavoidable" says company which has consistently overpriced most of their products.
ReplyDeletetheir margins have likely dropped below 200%
ReplyDeleteI mean, RAM is RAM... even Apple RAM.
ReplyDeletesure sure, that thing cost 300 in production and they sell it for 1.5k.. they sure need to increase the price.. otherwise apple will go bankrupt
ReplyDeleteGoddamnit just when I need a macbook for uni this shit happens.
ReplyDeleteDno whats stopping you getting a neo at this point?
DeleteGuess I’m not cancelling the Apple Care plan on my iPhone 14 Pro Max anytime soon. I’m not willing to pay whatever the asking price for the new model is.
ReplyDeleteSo... is Apple going to start overcharging its customers now as well?
ReplyDeleteThe business term for it is "healthy margin".
DeleteI picked the right time to get my Mac mini.
ReplyDeleteTheir profit margins on the iPhone are already so sky high that they could just weather the RAM pricing cost increase, but what am I saying.
ReplyDeleteLiterally just bought an iPad Pro M5 and got the iPhone 17 last year, i kept telling everyone if you need to upgrade or get something do it asap cuz stuff is going to go up lol
ReplyDeleteBS. They could just take the hit given their products are, what, 2.5x the BOM cost?
ReplyDeleteThey're probably the ones who are least affected out of all hardware companies. They have very strong relationships with suppliers.
ReplyDeleteSo instead of 700 bucks for a pair of wheels you'll pay 1000.
ReplyDeletechecks market
ReplyDeleteThat boi running though. God damn.
ReplyDeletejust more proof that companies will always use an excuse to raise prices.....Iphones already have a huge profit margin (aka you pay WAY more than they cost to make) and they could choose to not raise the prices and still make a profit...but you see...that profit number would go down and thats bad.
I guarantee Apple is about to have its most profitable year soon.
Apple orders years in advance and it finally caught up to them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a story of AI and data centres hoarding more than they need than the way the article phrasing alot of it like it's a natural event. We have a solution and it's stop wasting our resources on "line goes up" on a fake inflated stock market with no material reality... If the stock market follow material reality then tesla wouldn't be worth more than a dozen car companies that sell way more cars than it each.
I used to have an ipod mini because it was in the lost and found long enough to be next to the garbage for the week and up for grabs. That was enough for me
ReplyDeleteUsed market has already taken a hit I think. There seem to be way fewer 2-3 year old phones for sale currently. The ones that are for sale are more expensive than they should be too.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the $3k iPhone fold though, right?
Does anyone really need a new phone every year?
ReplyDeleteNo, they don’t but Apple has no problem making you think that you really should be upgrading yearly in order to avoid FOMO.
DeleteApple isn’t trying to get you to upgrade every year any more than any other phone maker. Most Apple users are not upgrading every year.
DeleteAnd if people actually paid attention to how they do their incremental upgrades and advertising, they’d see that Apple expects most of their customers to upgrade, realistically, every 3-4 years. Just because weirdos sit outside their stores every year doesn’t mean not mean the regular people making decisions think they represent every customer.
DeleteHardly. Apple is supporting a phone from 2019 with iOS 27. That's hardly them forcing you to upgrade phones. In fact, that's bloody amazing support. Androids have only just started to commit to 4yrs+ of major updates, and even then, that's mostly just Samsung & Google at this point.
DeleteFOMO is the real enemy.
DeleteYou’re really blaming Apple for your lack of self control.
DeleteHumanity really is reaching new lows.
Comment deleted by user
ReplyDeleteMBA's start with 512gb and Macbook Pro's start with 1tb now, 256gb is not an option. Additionally, RAM starts with 16gb now instead of 8gb. Neo is the only caveat but that's competition for Chromebook. Frankly even the Neo beats out some regular entry level PC's especially on build quality nothing comes close for the price.
DeleteThe closure of the consumer's wallets to Apple is unavoidable too, Timmy boy.
ReplyDeleteWhile continuing their "AI" GenAlgo bs.
ReplyDeleteSo that $2,000 Apple PC that I can't game on is now gonna be a $4,000 Apple PC that I can't game on?
ReplyDeleteWhy are you buying apple to game anyways?😂🌽
DeleteThe sarcasm went way over your head huh
DeleteTHEY HELPED CREATE THIS MESS
ReplyDeleteAs someone stepping out of the data center industry, no. Apple has been the most reserved out of everyone, only dipping their toes into adding compute when they know they can make a profit. Most of what they build is for managing their own services like iCloud, and a ton into Apple Wallet.
DeleteTheir AI is “behind” only because they haven’t been driving their whole company into debt for it. They wait for models to be useable before they expand to use them.
In the data center world they are pragmatic as fuck.
I wasn’t aware of their massive buildout into the AI space causing the ram issues.
Delete35 hundo iPhone incoming this September, I’d guess.
ReplyDeleteMe having your device is avoidable! Yay!
ReplyDeleteDuh. We have finite resources on the planet and if everyone is vying for apiece of that resource, of course it’ll run dry… hence cost more.
ReplyDeleteLike apple needs an excuse for their price hike. They were going to do it even if there wasnt a memory shortage.
ReplyDeleteThis feels like a weird take when they’re one of the few that haven’t increased their prices
DeleteTo be fair, integrated ram / chips are different from buying the desktop kits. It's the desktop kits that are hit the hardest. I'd question if they really need to ramp up prices when the integrated parts must be in lower demand as they can't be used for data centres?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think you understand the memory supply chain in any capacity. It’s not just “desktop kits”? Do you think data centers are out here buying sticks of Trident Z and Corsair Vengeance sticks for their data centers? Lmao
DeleteI think they know that and meant desktop kits for DIY are relatively hit hardest, due to stuff like economy of scale or other second order effects.
DeleteFor SoCs you know how much memory you need and can presumably order nearly the exact amount you need in bulk quantities direct from the flash supplier.
Don't know if it's correct or not but makes some sense to me.
Thats not how it works...
DeleteOk. Fair enough ! You clearly must know more than me. I assumed this because laptop prices aren't ridiculous yet. And if laptops are essential for the modern working world, I'd assume they'd need to be kept relatively affordable.
DeleteLaptops and SFF business computers units are sold in large volumes to wholesalers and large corporations and have been more protected from the pricing increases until recently due to the longer production timelines and memory purchases taking place in previous business cycles. Once those SKUs sell out, the manufacturing process requires purchasing new memory which took place after the initial pricing increases for consumer products. This is also why gaming laptops and consumer lines got hit before business models did. I work in corporate IT and AV and the pricing increases have been hitting the past couple months due to the memory shortages, well after the direct to consumer market started getting hit.
DeleteGood thing I haven't bought an Apple product since like 2017
ReplyDeleteI mean the price increases are totally avoidable. Charge the big tech companies a hugely inflated price for the hugely inflated demand and leave consumer prices unchanged for their unchanged demand.
ReplyDeleteLol. Consumer hardware is the less profitable sector in tech.
DeleteSo charging less will not cut into their profit margins?
Deleteatm ram/nad flash is the most cost for smart devices and computers.
Deleteyou simple cant go any cheaper margin wise.
seeing those 2 parts alone are now 50% of the manf cost of a device.
You can't go cheaper than their recent 300% price increase? The less I think about it, the more sense it makes.
Delete