Apple will raise prices due to memory chip shortage, Tim Cook confirms - Gagadget.com

Apple is set to raise device prices due to a severe global shortage of memory chips, as confirmed by CEO Tim Cook. The increase is attributed to soaring component costs, with Apple having exhausted it... Read original →

The memory shortage is triggering a cascade across the hardware stack. DRAM makers’ pivot to AI servers not only starves smartphones of allocation but also diverts 3nm and EUV investments toward HBM, delaying LPDDR5X yield ramp. Apple’s vertical integration offers temporary insulation, yet price hikes for iPhone 18 and its debut foldable—now luxury-tier—are inevitable, risking demand erosion in Europe and emerging markets. Budget Android players like Xiaomi and Transsion, lacking long-term supply pacts, face acute disruption. Geopolitically, tighter U.S.-South Korea export controls on advanced memory tech turn supply chain security into a strategic imperative, not just a cost issue. If AI data centers continue siphoning capacity, consumer chip scarcity could become structural within 12–24 months, forcing OEMs to redesign BOMs or even adopt DRAM-light edge architectures.