Tim Cook warned of a ‘hundred-year flood’ striking tech giants — and now Apple is raising prices. What it means for you

Apple CEO Tim Cook has warned of an unprecedented supply chain crisis, calling surging semiconductor costs a hundred-year flood that will force Apple to increase product prices across its hardware lineup. Memory and storage chip costs have quadrupled over the past year, driven by intense competition and massive demand from rapid artificial intelligence server buildouts. Cook noted that while Apple has historically leveraged its massive scale and supplier relationships to absorb cost spikes, the current inflationary environment has made product price increases unavoidable. The anticipated price hikes are expected to impact upcoming major hardware releases, including next-generation iPhone models. Industry research firm TechInsights estimates that passing on these elevated chip costs could raise the retail price of the next iPhone Pro model by roughly $270. Other device manufacturers, including Dell and HP, are experiencing similar headwinds, with Morgan Stanley estimating overall U.S. smartphone and PC prices could rise 15% this year. These cost pressures highlight intensifying supply chain inflation that could challenge consumer demand and squeeze device margins.