Apple is preparing to raise prices on its products, and the reason has less to do with iPhones than with the boom in artificial intelligence.
In an exclusive report, the Wall Street Journal said chief executive Tim Cook confirmed that Apple will lift prices because of a crunch in memory chips. The BBC reported the same, noting that Cook — described as the company's outgoing boss — did not say when the increases would take effect or which products would be affected.
The squeeze traces back to soaring demand from AI companies. According to PYMNTS, those firms are buying up chips at a pace that is driving costs higher across the industry. Memory chips, the components that store data inside devices, are a particular pressure point: when AI data centers compete for the same supply that goes into consumer electronics, prices rise for everyone.
Apple, like other hardware makers, buys these chips from outside suppliers, so higher component costs eventually flow through to the price of finished products.
For now, key details remain open. The BBC stressed that Cook offered no timeline and no list of affected products, leaving customers uncertain about exactly how much more they might pay, or for which devices.
Why it matters: it is an early, concrete sign that the AI gold rush is no longer just a story about tech stocks and data centers — it is starting to show up in the prices ordinary shoppers pay for everyday gadgets.