Apple blamed "the rapid expansion of AI data centers" for the price hikes on your next Mac or iPad. Apple's own decision to cram more RAM into its devices for its own AI features is a second AI-driven cost its statement never mentions.
Tim Cook called June's Mac and iPad price increases "unavoidable" once "the situation has become unsustainable." Real, confirmed increases followed, up to $300 more for a MacBook Pro. What Apple's statement leaves out: some of that cost comes from Apple's own choice to add more on-device RAM for its own AI features, not only the external shortage.
"Apple said in a written statement that "the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," after CEO Tim Cook called the resulting price increases "unavoidable" and the situation "unsustainable" in June 2026." [SOURCE ↗]
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THE CLAIM. Apple's written statement says "the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," after CEO Tim Cook called the resulting price increases "unavoidable" and the situation "unsustainable."
THE CHECK. the shortage and the price increases are both real and confirmed with hard numbers, a MacBook Air rose $200 and a MacBook Pro rose $300 in June 2026. What the statement omits: reporting on the same shortage notes Apple "needs to increase the DRAM in its devices to support new AI features," its own product choice, not only the external data-center demand its statement names as the sole cause.
THE TWIST. Apple hadn't set iPhone 18 pricing as of this story's writing, with its launch event one day away and an analyst projecting a jump of up to $200 on the Pro models, larger than Apple's typical increases.
On June 17, 2026, CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal, per MacRumors, that Apple's price increases were "unavoidable," saying "we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable." MacRumors reported that he likened the memory shortages to a
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