Apple chief executive Tim Cook has blamed the US memory-chip manufacturer Micron for forcing the tech giant to aggressively increase product prices in late June, drawing a sharp counter-accusation from the supplier.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Cook said memory-chip production capacity had plummeted just as consumer demand surged. He alleged that memory manufacturers had seized the opportunity to increase RAM trading prices, leaving Apple to shoulder massive cost increases.
The chief executive’s remarks strongly imply that Apple views memory-chip manufacturers as the root cause of the current severe chip shortage and skyrocketing prices.
However, Micron chief business officer Sumit Sadana hit back in a separate interview with the Journal, recalling the market downturn of 2023. He noted that during that period, several major clients capitalised on the situation by aggressively driving down prices to historic lows for their own benefit.
Mr Sadana argued that this predatory pricing squeezed the profit margins of memory chipmakers, including Micron, leaving them without the capital required to build new factories or expand production capacity. Consequently, he said, manufacturers now lack the facilities needed to meet the massive spike in customer demand.
While Mr Sadana stopped short of naming Apple directly, international media outlets quickly inferred that the iPhone maker was a primary target of the criticism. Apple is one of Micron’s largest customers and is widely known for leveraging long-term contracts to squeeze suppliers.
Recent industry data reveals that memory and storage chip prices have quadrupled compared to the past three quarters. Prices are projected to surge by another 58% to 63% by the end of the third quarter of 2026.
Analysts at JPMorgan warned that smartphone prices could climb even higher in the future. They estimated that memory-chip production costs for the iPhone could jump by approximately 45% by 2027.
Meanwhile, data from the market research firm Gartner indicates that combined memory and storage chip prices are on track to soar by up to 130% by the end of 2026. This spike is expected to drive up PC prices by 17% and smartphone prices by more than 13%.
Source: Gartner, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Korea JoongAngDaily
