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Apple to Raise Prices Due to Memory Chip Crunch

Apple plans to increase prices on some products due to a global shortage and rising costs of memory chips, which have squeezed supply chains and raised component expenses for the tech giant.

Background

- Apple is reportedly planning price increases across several product lines (Mac, iPhone, iPad) due to a sharp rise in the cost of NAND flash memory and DRAM — the chips used for storage and short-term memory in devices. - The global memory chip market, dominated by a few giants like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, has been cycling through a severe oversupply glut (2022-2023) into a rapid price rebound in 2024, driven by booming demand for AI data centers and constrained production capacity. - This marks a reversal from recent years when Apple largely absorbed component costs; it also comes as the company faces sluggish upgrade cycles and increased competition in China. Higher prices could further dampen consumer demand.

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