Apple is about to do something it has historically avoided: raise prices across its product lineup. The culprit is the insatiable appetite for memory chips driven by the AI boom, and Apple is losing the bidding war.
During Apple’s Q2 2026 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook laid out the problem in unusually blunt terms. Memory costs, both DRAM and NAND, are climbing significantly, and the company expects them to rise even further in the June quarter and beyond. The reason is straightforward: AI infrastructure builders are gobbling up the world’s memory chip supply, and they’re willing to pay more than consumer electronics makers to get it.
The ‘RAMageddon’ problem
DRAM and NAND prices have reportedly surged 10-25% or more year-over-year, driven almost entirely by AI server buildouts. The same chips that help your iPhone multitask smoothly are being hoarded by companies training the next generation of AI models, and there aren’t enough to go around.
Apple’s position is particularly vulnerable right now. The company’s long-term DRAM supply agreements with Samsung and SK Hynix are set to expire around January 2026. New negotiations will almost certainly come with significantly higher price tags.
