Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has indicated in an interview that the company intends to raise product prices to counter the escalating costs of memory and storage chips.

The surge in demand for AI-driven data centers has compelled consumer electronics firms to engage in intense competition for a dwindling supply of critical components, resulting in significant price inflation.

Groups representing automakers, retailers, electronics companies, and other businesses warned earlier this month that the growing demand for memory chips could lead to substantial price increases for consumer goods in the U.S. and disrupt supply chains.

"Unfortunately, price increases are inevitable," Cook stated in the interview. "We are doing our utmost to mitigate the substantial cost increases being passed on to us, and we have consistently worked to shield our customers from price hikes, but this situation is becoming unsustainable."

Cook, who is set to hand over the CEO role to John Ternus in September, did not specify when prices would rise, by how much, or which products might be affected.

Reports suggest Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone in September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models.

Cook noted that both memory and storage costs are areas of concern for the company, particularly the DRAM market. He pointed out that more supply is being allocated to high-bandwidth memory for AI servers.

"At a time when consumers need devices, memory supply is shrinking, and memory manufacturers are passing on significant price increases to consumers," he said. "We urgently need memory prices and supply for consumer-grade products to return to reasonable levels. That is the crux of the issue."

During the interview, Cook hinted that Apple is prepared to utilize its cash reserves to boost memory chip supply, though he did not provide specific details. He stated, "We are willing to leverage the strength of our balance sheet to help address the supply shortage. Clearly, the industry needs to expand more capacity."

Cook clarified that Apple has no plans to use its capital and chip technology to establish its own memory and storage chip manufacturing facilities.