Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 17
Apple Warns AI Chip Shortage Could Add $270 to iPhone Pro Prices
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 17

Apple Warns AI Chip Shortage Could Add $270 to iPhone Pro Prices

3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 17

Summary

  • Tim Cook said higher prices for Macs, iPhones and iPads are “unavoidable” after memory and storage chip costs rose fourfold from last year.
  • AI-driven demand for hardware has tightened global DRAM and NAND supply, and Cook called Apple’s efforts to absorb those costs “unsustainable.”
  • TechInsights estimated Apple would need to add about $270 to the next iPhone Pro to preserve margins; the current iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099.
  • A September iPhone launch could give Apple its next chance to raise prices, while memory-heavy on-device AI features risk adding further cost pressure across its lineup.

Insights

As the AI chip 'supercycle' inflates iPhone prices, is the era of affordable technology officially over?
Will the AI-driven chip shortage finally force tech giants like Apple to build their own manufacturing plants?
With AI infrastructure spending nearing $1 trillion, is this computational arms race creating an unsustainable economic bubble?