'A hundred-year flood': Tim Cook's worst nightmare just came true, forcing Apple to raise prices amid 'RAMageddon'
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'A hundred-year flood': Tim Cook's worst nightmare just came true, forcing Apple to raise prices amid 'RAMageddon' Dave Smith Thu, June 25, 2026 at 1:40 PM EDT 3 min read AAPL Just one week after Apple CEO Tim Cook said (1) the rapidly rising costs of memory and storage chips, a.k.a. RAMageddon , would cause a "hundred-year flood" that he's "never seen anything like" in 40+ years in consumer electronics, the iPhone maker pulled the trigger Thursday morning. It briefly took its online store offline – and when it went live again, some products were up to 25% more expensive than they were before. The base MacBook Air is now $1,299 — a $200 price hike. The MacBook Pro now starts at $1,999, up $300 from before. The MacBook Neo, the newest and most affordable entry in Apple's laptop lineup, is now $100 more expensive than it was before, and will start at $699. Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this 'explosion' Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — here are 5 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one Millionaires under 43 hold only 25% of their wealth in stocks. Here's where their money is actually going Among iPads, the iPad Air got a $150 price hike and now starts at $749. The iPad Pro now starts at $1,199, which is up $200 from before. And the smallest iPad you can buy, the iPad Mini, is now $100 more expensive, starting at $599. As for the desktop Macs, Apple raised the floor for the standalone iMac desktop to $1,499, a $200 increase, and the baseline Mac Studio with M4 Max, which is basically like a Mac Mini on steroids, now starts at $2,499, which is up $500 from before Thursday. The high-end Mac Studio, which is powered by the M3 Ultra chip, is a whopping $1,300 more expensive than before (was $3,999, is now $5,299). Nearly two months ago, Tim Cook, Apple's outgoing CEO , warned that "we expect significantly higher memory costs" in the June quarter . "I can tell you that beyond the June quarter, we believe memory costs will drive an increasing impact on our business. And we'll continue to evaluate this," he said. To be clear, it's not just Apple grappling with this problem — although if a company the size of Apple admits it's an issue, you know it's even worse for virtually every other company making consumer electronics. What's happening here is that, basically, AI is a RAM hog (2) – and since AI data centers require a lot of memory (in addition to water and electricity), most of the Silicon Valley giants are gobbling up supply (3). This is a serious issue because three companies — Samsung, Micron, and Hynix — make up over 90% of RAM production (4) on the planet. This is partly why Anthropic is paying SpaceX (5) over a billion dollars a month (6). AI ain't cheap, and unfortunately, the rest of the tech world will pay the price (but really, pass those costs onto you, the consumer). Dave Ramsey warns this is America's most common retirement mistake — here's what it is and how to fix it ASAP Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how This little-known industry practice is inflating American drivers' insurance bills. Here are 3 easy ways to fight back Here's the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind? We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines . Wsj ( 1 ); Cnet ( 2 ); Forbes ( 3 ); Tomshardware ( 4 ); Anthropic ( 5 ); Bloomberg ( 6 ) This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: 'A hundred-year flood': Tim Cook's worst nightmare just came true, forcing Apple to raise prices amid 'RAMageddon' This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
AI 시장 분석
Apple raised prices of major products such as Mac and iPad by up to 25% citing a sharp rise in memory prices. Tim Cook previously described memory costs as a 'hundred-year flood', warning that large-scale RAM demand from AI data centers is crowding out supply. With production concentrated in 삼성·Micron·Hynix and strong AI-driven demand, memory price and supply instability are likely to persist. As a result, memory manufacturers are expected to benefit, while Apple, PC/tablet OEMs, and consumer demand will likely face margin pressure and a slowdown in demand.
상승 영향
- Semiconductors (memory manufacturers) — DRAM·NAND price increases centered on 삼성·Micron·Hynix are expected to improve revenue and margins, positively impacting their stock performance.
- Data centers / Cloud / AI infrastructure — Rising AI workloads are sharply increasing memory demand, driving capacity expansion and revenue growth for data center and cloud operators.
- Semiconductor equipment and materials su — CAPEX increases to expand memory capacity are likely to boost orders and improve results for equipment and materials suppliers.
하락 영향
- Apple (AAPL) — AAPL's product price increases risk reducing unit sales and market share, creating short-term revenue headwinds and brand image risk.
- PC and tablet manufacturers (notebook an — Passing on higher costs may depress demand among price-sensitive consumers and lead to inventory buildup, weighing on OEM revenues and margins.
- Consumer goods (retail/consumer demand) — Higher electronics prices can delay replacement purchases and reduce consumer spending, negatively affecting retail and related service sales.
AI가 생성한 분석으로 투자 자문이 아닙니다.
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