Cupertino, California, June 18, 2026, 11:00 PDT
- Apple is set to hike product prices as rising costs for memory and storage chips start to bite, possibly passing those increases on to buyers before its next hardware launch, Reuters reported.
- AI data centers are drawing DRAM and high-bandwidth memory away from phones, PCs and other consumer products, creating a squeeze.
- Micron jumped 8.8% on Thursday. Investors saw Apple’s warning as a positive for memory suppliers.
Apple will hike prices on some products as memory and storage-chip costs jump, Chief Executive Tim Cook said to The Wall Street Journal. Cook called price rises “unavoidable,” Reuters reported. The move is the clearest sign yet that the AI infrastructure boom is now reaching consumer electronics. Reuters
The timing is key. Memory chips have shifted from being a low-profile cost for laptops and phones to becoming a major sticking point for consumer electronics makers and AI data center operators, who both want supply and spend heavily. Industry groups for automakers, retailers, electronics companies and others told U.S. officials this month that the shortage could drive up prices for households and hit supply chains.
Apple isn’t saying which products will cost more, when prices change, or the size of any increase. Price hikes could hit some items and not others, instead of one sweep, but Apple is shifting. It’s starting to push some of the higher costs onto buyers.
DRAM is the bigger squeeze right now. That’s dynamic random-access memory—phones, computers, servers run on it. NAND is different, it’s the storage memory. That’s where data sits when devices are powered down. There’s also high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a pricier, faster DRAM version for AI servers. Cook said more supply is heading in that direction.
Cook said Apple plans to use its balance sheet to deal with supply constraints, but isn’t considering building its own memory factories. He also brought up the issue of U.S. curbs on working with Chinese memory suppliers, a politically touchy topic. On that, Cook said “everything needs to be on the table” and Apple should “look at all supply.” Reuters
Apple’s move puts it in line with other hardware makers impacted by rising costs. HP, Dell and Nintendo have pushed up prices, The Wall Street Journal said. Memory suppliers Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are seeing gains from tight memory chip supply and AI-fueled demand.
Micron jumped out front. Shares climbed 8.8% to $1,135.41. Apple added 0.5% to $297.56 in late-morning U.S. trade. Barron’s said Micron rallied after Apple signaled it can push higher memory costs down the line, backing up the story for stronger memory-chip prices.
Deutsche Bank’s Melissa Weathers raised her Micron price target to $1,500 from $1,000, calling for DRAM tightness to last “well into 2028 and potentially beyond.” Citi’s Atif Malik moved his target up to $1,200, saying he expects DRAM average selling prices to jump 200% in 2026, citing heavy data-center demand and tight supply. Analysts have been quick to revise targets. Investing.com
Apple’s consumer risk is tough to quantify. TechInsights, quoted by the Journal, said Apple would have to hike the iPhone Pro’s price by around $270 to keep margins steady. Cook hasn’t confirmed a number or talked about future models. The price gap is key. Apple has options: it can lift sticker prices, scale back promos, tweak storage options, or eat some costs. Each move would hit margins and demand in its own way.
Apple is coming in strong. March-quarter revenue hit $111.2 billion, up 17% year over year. Diluted EPS came in at $2.01, a gain of 22%. But the tight memory supply turns a good product run into a real pricing question—how much can Apple push on price before upgrades cool?
There is a downside too. Consumers might reject price hikes, leaving Apple to pick between selling fewer devices or taking a hit to margins. If memory comes back sooner than Apple thought, the price hikes could look off. Turning to China won’t solve the problem fast, since U.S. companies would probably need licenses to deal with Chinese memory firms given national security rules.
Apple’s issue isn’t just costs for a single quarter—it’s about supply. As buyers for AI shift demand and grab more priority in memory supply, Apple is starting to show that it can’t shield its customers from the squeeze, despite being the world’s biggest consumer-electronics name.
