Apple boss Tim Cook says prices to rise due to memory chip costs

Tim Cook just dropped the least-loved Apple update of the year: prices are going up, and the internet instantly turned into a group chat full of rage, resignation, and “well, obviously” energy. The official reason is simple enough for non-nerds: the little memory parts inside phones and computers have gotten a lot more expensive, thanks to the artificial intelligence boom and wider supply chaos. Cook says Apple tried to absorb the pain, but now it’s "unsustainable". Translation, according to many readers: get your wallet ready.

But the real fireworks were in the comments. Some people basically shrugged and said, of course Apple was going to do this — the company may be rich, but it doesn’t have magic chip cupboards. Others were far less charitable, calling this a neon-sign example of corporate greed and mocking the idea of "efficient markets" when everyone seems happy to charge sky-high prices together. One especially spicy take spiraled into full dystopian mode, suggesting this whole crunch is helping kill affordable home computing and funnel people toward paid artificial intelligence services instead.

Then came the delicious irony: several commenters pointed out that Apple already charges eye-watering prices for memory, so hearing it blame memory costs felt a little like a luxury restaurant blaming potatoes. Still, not everyone was furious. A few gave Apple credit for holding off this long, with one noting its machines had briefly looked like better value than some Windows rivals. And yes, there was accidental comedy too: one commenter worried they might not afford a new Mac Studio... after admitting they sometimes spend $1,000 a month on AI subscriptions. Priorities, darling.