The tech industry has been bracing for the effects of the ongoing RAM crisis, and Apple's recent price hike was a long time coming. Despite holding steady for months, the company finally gave in to the increasing costs of components, raising prices on Macs and iPads by as much as $500.
Industry experts questioned the magnitude of the price increase, but some form of rise was inevitable. The growing demand for AI server infrastructure is diverting more and more memory away from consumer electronics and into giant data centers.
A recent report suggests that the situation will only get worse before it improves. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for his industry insights, took to social media to share his latest findings, which paint a gloomy picture for consumers planning to buy Apple products in the near future.
Kuo predicts that the memory supply-demand gap will continue to widen through 2027, with an estimated 15-20% of memory capacity allocated to consumer electronics shifting to data centers next year. This could lead to even longer delivery times for Apple customers.
The A20 chip, which will power the highly anticipated iPhone 18 Pro, may be affected by the RAM crisis. Kuo estimates that Apple's actual pull-in volume of A20 chips could be 10-20% below its original target due to tight memory supply.
As Apple struggles to secure enough components, it may also turn to its considerable political influence to secure memory from the Chinese company ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). This move has been met with skepticism, with some doubting the need for such a deal.
Despite the challenges ahead, Kuo suggests that Apple's PR efforts may have an unexpected benefit. Even if the deal with CXMT falls through, the attempt to secure the memory can help ease frustration among consumers over price hikes and delivery times.
