Apple raises iPhone, Mac prices as memory chip crisis deepens

Apple ↗ 0.85% has raised prices across its iPhone lineup by £100 in the U.K. and $100 in the U.S., while its new Mac mini now starts at $899 — up $300 from the previous generation — as a global memory chip shortage driven by AI data center demand continues to ripple through consumer electronics.

The Price of 'RAMageddon'

The increases, disclosed alongside Apple's iPhone 18 launch and new Mac mini with M6 chip, make the world's best-selling smartphone and one of its most popular desktops the most visible consumer casualties of what the industry has dubbed "RAMageddon." Samsung and Google Alphabet Inc. ↗ 1.88% have similarly added up to £80 to their flagship phones, according to The Guardian. Apple has also raised prices on refurbished stock by £60 to £70, including older models like the iPhone 15.streamlinefeed+3

Reviews of the new Mac mini published Monday were largely positive about performance but critical of the pricing. "The M4 Mac mini was one of Apple's best values," wrote Ars Technica. "The $899 M6 mini, not so much." Engadget called it "the best compact desktop" but said it is "no longer a great deal." The Mac mini launches Tuesday, September 22.arstechnica+2

A '100-Year Flood'

The root cause is a capacity fight among the three companies that control roughly 95% of the global DRAM supply — Samsung, SK Hynix ↗ 0.73%, and Micron ↗ 2.77% — all of which are steering production toward high-bandwidth memory for AI servers, where margins far exceed those on conventional chips used in phones and laptops.theweek+1

On his final earnings call in July before handing the CEO role to John Ternus, then-chief executive Tim Cook described memory pricing as "a 100-year flood," citing exponential increases that had forced Apple to raise prices and reduced gross margins. "The situation has become unsustainable," Cook told The Wall Street Journal in June, when Apple first signaled price hikes were coming.reuters+2

Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of client devices at IDC, told The Guardian that memory costs were up more than 300% year-on-year, and because older iPhones use the same expensive memory as new ones, Apple is effectively pricing them as current products.streamlinefeed

No Quick Relief

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company expects "tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027 as a result of AI-driven demand across all segments coupled with structural supply constraints." Micron president Manish Bhatia has said meaningful new output is not expected until around 2030. IDC senior director Nabila Popal expects prices to stabilize at a new normal at least triple former levels rather than returning to 2025 prices.investors+2

The longer consequence, analysts warn, is a repriced category. If memory settles at triple its old level and new fabrication capacity arrives only near 2030, the long-held assumption that each generation of consumer electronics costs less than the last may no longer hold.streamlinefeed