A price rise for 2026βs new iPhone models is inevitable, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook, as the tech industry continues to battle out-of-control component prices driven by an explosion in AI data centre development.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal ahead of the expected reveal of iPhone 18 models in September, Cook said Apple faced unprecedented competition for memory and storage, and that consumers should expect to pay more.
βWeβre doing our best β to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and weβve been trying βto shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable,β he said. βIβve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.β
Cook previously foreshadowed that Apple was not immune to the crisis; in Australia, the company has already quietly adjusted the availability of its Mac computers, withdrawing certain models of its Mini and Studio products and effectively raising the entry-level Mac price from $999 to $1299.
Meanwhile, the prices of computers, game consoles, and other devices that need memory or storage have increased significantly this year, even for models unchanged from eight years ago. Tech giants are spending billions fitting out new facilities with an extraordinary amount of high-bandwidth memory, so manufacturers have shifted their production lines to serve them, forcing others to compete as manufacturing hits the upper limits of its capacity.
Given the scale of laptop and console increases, it wouldnβt be impossible for this yearβs iPhones to cost consumers $200 or $300 more than last yearβs, although Cook did not comment on prices.
Last yearβs iPhone 17 launched at $1400, and the 17 Pro at $2000.
Apple is widely tipped to introduce a folding iPhone this year, in addition to the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro models. At its recent worldwide developer conference, it also unveiled a new suite of AI tools β including a more ChatGPT-like Siri β that would come to its new and recent phones.
Cook has announced that he will stand down as chief executive in September after 15 years in the role, with his successor and long-time vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus now facing the complex task of securing ample components while keeping prices under control.
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Tim Biggs is a writer covering consumer technology, gadgets and video games.Connect via X or email.