Apple raised the prices of certain Mac and iPad models “reluctantly” in June, CEO Tim Cook said on Apple’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call, attributing the move to an extraordinary spike in memory costs — what he called a “100‑year flood on memory pricing.”
Apple and the memory-price crisis
Cook framed the June price increases as a forced response to an exponential surge in memory prices. He said the company did not want to raise retail prices but was compelled to by this exceptional supply-driven shock in the memory market, which Apple cites as the direct rationale for the adjustments applied to Mac and iPad lines.
A multifactor commercial decision
Asked whether the objective was to protect gross dollars or maintain product margins, Cook rejected a purely arithmetic explanation. Apple says it evaluates “units, revenue and margin” together when making commercial choices, favoring a long-term view rather than a quarter-by-quarter tradeoff. In short, the price increases were the result of balancing multiple levers, not a single metric.
No confirmation on upcoming iPhone pricing
Cook did not confirm whether Apple will raise prices on the forthcoming iPhone 18 Pro or the company’s first foldable model expected in September. He did note that several analysts expect price increases for those devices, but he neither confirmed nor denied those market expectations.
Persistence of higher memory costs and possible offsets
Apple expects elevated memory costs to carry into the September quarter, Cook said, but believes some of that pressure can be offset by lower prices on non-memory components and by using existing inventory. That implies the net margin impact will depend on component-cost trends and inventory management in the coming weeks.
Bottom line
Apple frames the June price increases as a necessary response to an unprecedented memory-price shock, emphasizing a multifaceted, long-term commercial calculus. Uncertainty remains around pricing for the new iPhone models due this fall.
