Apple’s outgoing CEO, Tim Cook, has confirmed that the company will have to raise prices on its products due to increasing costs, no thanks to the memory crisis.
In an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook said, “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable.” He added:
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.
This means Apple product prices, including iPhones, will also go up in Pakistan. Apple has no local presence here, which means we don’t get any regional pricing advantages with iPhones, meaning we will have to pay the same price hikes as other markets.
If you recall, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series launched with much better prices in Pakistan compared to the US and other markets, despite the global price hike. This is because Samsung officially operates in Pakistan, which allows it to apply regional pricing. Unlike Apple, Samsung also has local assembly available here, which allows it to lower prices.
Cook did not reveal how much prices will increase or when the changes will take effect. However, with WWDC 2026 now over, Apple is only a few months away from unveiling its iPhone 18 lineup. The upcoming smartphones are expected to cost more than the previous generation. Any new MacBooks and iPads announced later this year could also see higher prices. Apple’s existing products may also become more expensive as the tech industry continues to face component shortages caused by growing AI-related demand.
Explaining the situation, Cook said:
There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases. We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line.
Cook’s comments were in line with his usual diplomatic approach. His decision to announce the price increases himself may help spare his successor, John Ternus, from facing the initial public reaction. He also highlighted how unusual the current memory market has become, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.”
Apple is not the only technology company dealing with rising costs. Samsung, HP, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Valve have all recently spoken about the impact of increasing RAM prices and strong demand over the past few months.
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