AdvertisementA price rise for 2026’s new iPhone models is inevitable, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook, as the tech industry continues to battle out-of-control component prices driven by an explosion in AI data centre development.Speaking to the Wall Street Journal ahead of the expected reveal of iPhone 18 models in September, Cook said Apple faced unprecedented competition for memory and storage, and that consumers should expect to pay more.Apple chief executive Tim Cook says the situation has become unsustainable.Bloomberg“We’re doing our best ⁠to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying ​to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.”Cook previously foreshadowed that Apple was not immune to the crisis; in Australia, the company has already quietly adjusted the availability of its Mac computers, withdrawing certain models of its Mini and Studio products and effectively raising the entry-level Mac price from $999 to $1299.AdvertisementMeanwhile, the prices of computers, game consoles, and other devices that need memory or storage have increased significantly this year, even for models unchanged from eight years ago. Tech giants are spending billions fitting out new facilities with an extraordinary amount of high-bandwidth memory, so manufacturers have shifted their production lines to serve them, forcing others to compete as manufacturing hits the upper limits of its capacity.Given the scale of laptop and console increases, it wouldn’t be impossible for this year’s iPhones to cost consumers $200 or $300 more than last year’s, although Cook did not comment on prices.Last year’s iPhone 17 launched at $1400, and the 17 Pro at $2000.Apple is widely tipped to introduce a folding iPhone this year, in addition to the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro models. At its recent worldwide developer conference, it also unveiled a new suite of AI tools — including a more ChatGPT-like Siri — that would come to its new and recent phones.AdvertisementCook has announced that he will stand down as chief executive in September after 15 years in the role, with his successor and long-time vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus now facing the complex task of securing ample components while keeping prices under control.Get news and reviews on technology, gadgets and gaming in our Technology newsletter every Friday. Sign up here.SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareLicense this articleMore:PhonesAppleTim CookTim Biggs is a writer covering consumer technology, gadgets and video games.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement