Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a Wednesday interview with The Wall Street Journal that his company intends to hike product prices because of the soaring costs of memory chips.

Cook, who is stepping down from his role at Apple on Sept. 1, told the WSJ that price increases for the company’s products are now “unavoidable.” The technology company has not yet publicly disclosed details about how much its product costs will increase or when they will take effect, GuruFocus reported. (RELATED: Newsom Forces Apple And Google To Track Kids’ Ages Under New California Law)

“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” Cook said during the interview. “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.”

“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” he continued. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for ​consumer products. That’s the ​bottom line.”

Apple did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

(Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Cook’s comments come as AI data centers have been rapidly cornering the nation’s available memory chip supply, resulting in a shortage for other applications like smartphones, vehicles, personal computers and gaming consoles, according to Yahoo Finance.

The U.S. is currently facing a shortage of random-access memory (RAM), which is the short-term storage that digital devices such as computers and phones utilize to perform tasks quickly, Fast Company reported in January. The nation’s RAM shortage is projected to last through the rest of 2026 and potentially drive up prices, according to the outlet.

The cost of software and computer accessories in the U.S. were up a record 14.5% in May compared to in 2025, while the price of electronic components for producers surged 27%, according to The Business Times.

Semiconductor manufacturer Intel’s stock was up 7% on Thursday following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the company had agreed to partner with Apple to design and build chips in the U.S., CNBC reported.

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