New iPhones Could Become the Most Expensive in Apple’s History

It looks like the era of relatively stable smartphone prices is coming to an end. Apple has officially warned that it will raise the cost of its devices, and the reason turned out to be unexpected: the culprit is not the new design, not trade wars and not even inflation. The main factor is artificial intelligence.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the price increase was becoming “inevitable” because of the sharp rise in the cost of memory and storage — key components in almost any modern gadget. According to him, the company had long tried to keep prices down and absorb the extra costs itself, but the situation became unsustainable.

How AI triggered a memory shortage

Over the past two years, tech giants have begun building data centers en masse for training and running artificial intelligence. Such systems require huge amounts of high-speed memory. As a result, chipmakers are increasingly prioritizing server hardware for AI rather than smartphones and laptops.

According to TechInsights analysts, the cost of RAM and flash storage has risen several times compared with last year. For example, the memory package for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro could cost almost four times more than a similar set for the current smartphone generation.

In effect, the billions of dollars corporations are investing in AI development are starting to be paid for by ordinary electronics buyers.

Why the new iPhone could cost $1,300

Experts estimate that the production cost of the iPhone 18 Pro may increase by roughly a quarter. If Apple wants to maintain its usual profitability, the smartphone’s price could rise from the current $1,099 to $1,299. And with new cameras and other expensive components, the price could even approach $1,400.

Apple has not officially confirmed the price of the new models yet, but the company’s management is no longer hiding the fact that prices will rise in the future.

It’s not just iPhones that will get more expensive

According to Tim Cook, the problem affects the entire Apple device lineup. Analysts believe that Mac and iPad buyers may be the first to feel the price increases, since these devices depend especially heavily on memory capacity.

Moreover, Apple is far from the only company facing this problem. Rising memory costs are already putting pressure on computer, gaming console and smartphone manufacturers worldwide.

Users are not thrilled

Online, the news was met without much enthusiasm. Many iPhone owners are writing that they will now use their devices for longer and give up annual upgrades. Some note that modern smartphones have already reached a level where minor improvements to cameras and processors do not justify the constant price increases.

If analysts’ forecasts prove correct, then already this autumn the market may see the first iPhone priced at around $1,300 in the base Pro version. The irony is that one of the main drivers of the price increase will be artificial intelligence itself — the technology that originally promised to make life cheaper and easier.