Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that demand for memory chips from the artificial intelligence boom will force the tech giant to increase the prices of its products, according to an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday. "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," he said, adding that his company has been "trying to shield customers from the increases" but that it had become "unsustainable." He did not specify the timing, how much, or which devices would be impacted. "There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases," Cook said. The Wall Street Journal report cited an estimate from research firm TechInsights, which said Apple would need to increase the price of its iPhone Pro model by $270 to maintain its current profit margin. The rapid buildout of AI data centers has sent the cost of memory chips and RAM skyrocketing, with the chips undergoing quarterly price increases of at least 50 percent since late 2025. Cook, who has worked in electronic supply chains throughout his career, said he has never experienced such a spike in prices, calling it a "hundred-year flood."