Apple to raise prices due to memory chip costs

Apple plans to raise the prices of its products as the cost of the memory chips it uses has surged, the technology giant's boss has said.

Tim Cook, Apple's outgoing chief executive, told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that price increases are "unavoidable" as the situation around memory chips has become "unsustainable".

He did not say when prices will rise or which products will be affected. It is also unclear whether the price hikes will affect the iPhone 18, which is expected to be launched in September.

Memory chips are essential components in smart devices like mobile phones, but the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) has driven up their prices in recent months.

"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 from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable," Cook told the WSJ.

"There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases," said Cook, who is due to be replaced by John Ternus as Apple's CEO in September after 15 years in the role.

"We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That's the bottom line."

Cook's comments come after other technology giants have highlighted pressure in the chipmaking industry.