Technology: Price explosion for memory chips - will the iPhone soon cost $350 more?
Rising material costs are increasingly burdening Apple. At the same time, the company's purchasing power is dwindling. The new CEO has to make unpleasant decisions.
iPhones are likely to become significantly more expensive. "We expect price increases across the board when the new models are presented in September," Ben Wood from the analysis firm CCS Insight told the Handelsblatt. In view of the sharp increase in material costs, it is "inevitable" that Apple will charge more for its smartphones in the future, according to analysts at the market research and consulting firm Trendforce.
The company itself does not comment specifically on this when asked. However, there are several estimates for the amount of possible surcharges. Counterpoint, a US market researcher, expects $250 to $350 per device, for example, if Group CEO Tim Cook wants to maintain the gross margin at the previous level. Other analysts estimate the expected price increases for the iPhone 18 at $100 to $200.
AI boom drives storage prices to exorbitant heights Behind the increased costs is the expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence (AI). Especially in the USA, corporations such as Microsoft or Amazon are investing record sums - and competing for the same scarce components. One of the essential resources is memory chips.
For months, leading manufacturers SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron have not been able to supply anywhere near as much as customers order. The result: enormous price increases.
Translated by urgent.news. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
