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Jun 18, 2026

Apple plans price hikes due to surging memory, storage chip costs: Tim Cook

Bay Area Times
Bay Area Times
Apple plans price hikes due to surging memory, storage chip costs: Tim Cook

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Top stories today:

  1. Apple plans price hikes due to surging memory, storage chip costs
  2. Fed holds rates in Warsh debut, signals hikes ahead
  3. Altman, Amodei, Hassabis urge U.S.-led AI coordination at G7 summit
  4. OpenAI poaches Gemini co-lead for AI architecture research
  5. Midjourney enters healthcare with ultrasound body scanner

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0. Data and calendar

All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).

All times are ET.

Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing today’s newsletter (beware of hallucinations):

1. Apple plans price hikes due to surging memory, storage chip costs: Tim Cook

The iPhone 18 Pro is expected to start at $1,299, +18% from the iPhone 17 Pro’s base price:

WSJ, TechInsights, iFixit.

  • ā€œUnfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,ā€ Cook said.

  • Macs and iPads may see price increases sooner than other Apple devices.

  • Cook pointed in particular to the DRAM market, citing rising allocations toward high-bandwidth memory for AI services.

  • +30% in DRAM wafer production by 2027 is estimated by Morgan Stanley.

DRAM and NAND prices are +300% since last year and are expected to keep rising into 2027

WSJ, TechInsights.

  • Apple spends low tens of billions annually on memory and storage, but Cook said it won’t build its own fabs.

Separately, a 2nd-gen iPhone Air is said to be in testing with a second rear camera and longer battery life

Apple.

  • Spring 2027: launch is expected.

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3. Fed holds rates in Warsh debut, signals hikes ahead

WSJ, Federal Reserve.

  • The Fed held rates at 3.50%-3.75% on Wed. in a unanimous vote.

  • ā€œWe have the capability and commitment to deliver on our price stability,ā€ Warsh said.

  • Warsh did not submit a projection in the Fed’s pared-back statement.

  • 2-year Treasury yields rose 16 bps to 4.21%, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.7% after the decision.

  • -1.2% in the S&P 500.

9 of 19 officials projected at least one rate hike by year-end

Bloomberg.

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Athyna.

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  • AI-assisted matching and structured vetting help you find people who fit the role and the team.

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5. Altman, Amodei, Hassabis urge U.S.-led AI coordination at G7 summit

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