In the face of the RAM price crisis, one company has been notably absent from this conversation of price increases: Apple. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of brands are toeing the line of “no comment,” but I’m hearing much more concern behind the scenes, and reports are leaking how bad this is becoming.
Well, now, this is the first time the Cupertino crew’s in the spotlight, as a new rumor claims Apple’s long-term agreement for DRAM chips is coming to an end starting in January 2026.
That means the company will have to renegotiate with Samsung and SK Hynix, and those increased prices will become a part of the deal — potentially leading to the likes of the new low-cost MacBook, M5 MacBook Air, iPhone 18, iPhone Fold and M6 MacBook Pro becoming significantly more expensive.
What Apple devices may get more expensive?
- Current Apple devices you can buy right now are (probably) OK.
- Upcoming devices like the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPhone 18 and new iPads may get hit with a price increase.
What I find hard to understand is that the sell-side and the market are significantly overestimating Apple's supply chain management capabilities.In my view, Apple is also likely to take a significant hit from this memory price surge. The LTAs (Long-Term Agreements) that Apple…December 13, 2025
This all started from a post by @Jukan05 on X, who indicated that people are potentially overestimating just how secure Apple’s supply chain management is. This points to their own supply chain checks that Samsung and SK Hynix will be planning to “raise memory prices for Apple starting next January.”
After seeing the likes of Dell and Framework raise prices, as well as a report saying companies may have to downgrade products to keep the cost reasonable, what could Apple do in this situation?
According to Jukan, the company will raise prices “within the first half of next year,” and I believe they’re half right. I think the price increase could hit new announcements, but devices currently on sale should be fine. Let me explain.
While Apple’s global supply chain infrastructure is highly confidential, there are some things we can glean from looking back at the past years of product launches.
- Months ahead of an announcement, evidence always appears that new Apple devices are deep in manufacturing (the M4 MacBook Air, for example).
- This indicates a significant stockpile is created of current products — well ahead of this rumored January 2026 expiry of the DRAM long-term agreements.
And it’s with this supply chain management structure that I think these current prices won’t rise, but rather the newer devices announced in 2026 could very well bear the brunt. Plus, there are a couple of reasons to be slightly optimistic.
Apple’s defensive strategy
- Apple’s focus on building in-house chips could be the key to absorbing these DRAM chip costs.
- All the small savings of these self-made chips and the billions in cash Apple has could insulate it from raising prices.
- But if shareholder value goes down because of that, Apple may have no choice.
Apple is (and has been) a cash cow for quite a while now — sitting on billions of dollars. As Jukan said, this “will serve as a strong buffer” against RAMageddon. But there is another line here, which is the fact that the company builds its chips in-house.
These provide small savings across all the products Apple manufactures. For example, the C1 modem in the iPhone 16e saves the team $10 per unit over using off-the-shelf parts. Multiply that over millions of units sold, and it’s a significant chunk of change.
This could also put Apple in a position to absorb costs. But the real threat here is that by doing this, the company would inevitably reduce how much money it returns to its shareholders.
So it’s your classic “rock and a hard place” situation for the big A, and I hope the company makes the right decision — even if it causes them some share price pain.
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