Daijiworld Media Network – Cupertino

Cupertino, Jun 18: Apple is preparing to raise prices across its product lineup as the global DRAM supply crunch begins to impact the company, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has indicated.

The move comes amid a prolonged shortage of memory chips that has already driven up prices for many Android smartphones and other consumer electronics. Apple had largely avoided the effects of the crisis until now, thanks to its strong supply chain management and manufacturing capabilities.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Cook said Apple is considering price increases to offset rising costs of memory and storage components. However, he did not specify when the hikes would take effect, the extent of the increases, or which products would be affected.

The shortage has been exacerbated by soaring demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, with memory manufacturers increasingly directing supplies towards high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers and data centres.

"As more supply is diverted to AI-related applications, less memory is available for consumer devices," Cook said, adding that memory suppliers are passing on substantial price increases to electronics manufacturers.

"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," he said.

Industry groups representing automakers, retailers and electronics companies have also warned that rising demand for memory chips could lead to significant price increases for consumer goods and further strain global supply chains.

Cook said Apple is willing to use its financial resources to help improve memory supply availability, though he did not elaborate on how the company plans to do so. He also clarified that Apple has no intention of manufacturing its own memory or storage chips through dedicated factories.

The announcement comes during Cook's final months as Apple CEO before he hands over leadership to John Ternus in September, marking the end of an era for the technology giant.

Analysts expect any price increases by Apple to have a broader impact on the consumer electronics market, as manufacturers continue to grapple with rising component costs and supply constraints driven by the AI boom.