GoKawiilApple CEO Tim Cook and Jalen Brunson, basketball player for the New York Knicks, during the first day of in-store sales of Apple's latest products at Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York, Sept. 19, 2025.
For the past few years, consumers have been swarming to AI chatbots and agents, taking advantage of powerful new artificial intelligence models that are transforming how we live and work. They're now paying for it, but not in the way they probably expected.
The AI boom has led to unconstrained demand for memory, creating a worldwide shortage that's leading to increased prices. It's a big enough problem that Apple is finally telling consumers to get ready to open their wallets.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal, in an interview published on Wednesday, that the company plans price increases on its products due to the ongoing memory shortages. He called the hikes "unavoidable" and the memory situation "unsustainable."
"The world is being disrupted by AI and, at the same time, even before we start reaping the benefits of AI in our devices, we are already paying the bill," said Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at IDC, in an interview.
AI chips, largely made by Nvidia , are taking all the memory and storage that a handful of vendors can produce. Smartphone, PC, and other device makers have to get in line, or pay more for expedited access. But Apple's surprising disclosure, less than three months before Cook steps down as CEO, underscores the widespread impact of the shortage. To date, the iPhone maker has been viewed as particularly insulated from price increases due to its market power.
"It tells you the depth of the problem," said Ranjit Atwal, an analyst at Gartner. "Even Apple can't be safe, as much as they have all the expertise and long-term planning, and everything else. This is beyond their capacity to limit the impact."
Cook declined to say in the interview when price increases would go into effect and on which devices and models. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment to CNBC.