Apple warns memory costs are starting to bite as Samsung, SK Hynix prioritise AI chips

Apple said rising memory chip prices had started to pressure profitability in the current quarter, ⁠echoing warnings from South Korean chipmakers that are diverting production toward higher-margin memory chips that support AI workloads.

“We do continue to see market pricing for memory increasing significantly,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Thursday when asked on an earnings call about how the crunch was showing up in the company’s production plans for the year.

While he said the impact ‌of the memory ‌shortage had “minimal impact” in the holiday quarter ended December 31, which is typically its strongest for sales, he expected it would have more of an impact in the current quarter.