Unavoidable: Apple CEO Tim Cook warns iPhone prices are going to increase this year
Last Updated: 2026-06-18 09:50:18
The iPhone 18 launch this year could see a major price increase, as confirmed by Apple CEO Tim Cook in a report this week. The company has managed to offset the memory shortage changes so far without letting the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro prices go higher than usual levels.
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Apple CEO warns iPhone prices will rise this year- iPhone 18 Pro launch expected with higher prices
- AI and memory shortages drive unavoidable price hikes
But it seems the ongoing situation is now unavoidable for the tech giant, with Cook suggesting that people brace themselves for the inevitable and ready to splash out more for their new iPhone, Mac or even iPads later this year. “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," Cook was quoted saying by the WSJ in its report.
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The first big impact of these changes could be felt when the new iPhones are unveiled later this year by the incoming CEO John Ternus. Most brands have passed on the memory supply costs to the consumers, with the likes of the OnePlus 15 now priced well over Rs 85,000 for buyers. Apple has somehow avoided that impact so far but Cook making these comments suggests the honeymoon is over.
“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,” Cook adds.
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AI costing big time
All the memory and chip supply has been shifted to the enterprise server market to cater to the heavy AI demand. Devices also need additional memory to support the advanced AI tools, including Apple’s new AI ecosystem which requires a minimum of 12GB RAM to run the latest version.
Apple is not shying away from the current reality and buyers are invariably going to face the heat when the new products roll out. Having said that, expect the current iPhone 16 and even 17 models to see a price revision in the coming weeks. The supply of consumer-end hardware is far lower than the demand, and this is unlikely to change at least till mid-2027 as cited by most analysts.
Pricier iPhone 18 Pro at launch?
Apple will be launching the iPhone 18 Pro series this year, and going by what Cook has said in the report, the company is helping buyers prepare for the worst. The iPhones already cost well over Rs 1.20 lakh in the market, and if you even see a $100 (Rs 9,600 approx) hike in the prices, expect the iPhone 18 Pro launch price to cross the Rs 1.50 lakh mark in the market. Yes, it will support the new Siri AI version and the on-device AI promise from Apple but at a much steeper cost for the consumer. And we have already seen its impact in the other segments, Apple will finally make you pay.