Apple to raise prices amid memory chip shortage, CEO tells WSJ

Apple is preparing to raise prices on its products as the cost of essential memory and storage chips climbs, CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal. The surge in demand for data centers, fueled by artificial intelligence, has created a fierce competition for limited chip supplies. This has led to sharp price increases for these critical components.

"Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," Cook stated. He explained that Apple has been trying to shield its customers from these rising costs but acknowledged that the situation has become unsustainable. The company's CEO did not specify when the price increases would take effect, how significant they might be, or which products would be affected. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Cook, who is set to hand over leadership to John Ternus in September, indicated that the company is actively working to manage the escalating expenses. The global shortage of memory and storage chips, exacerbated by the demand from AI development, presents a significant challenge for consumer electronics manufacturers worldwide.

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Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable. 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.