Tim Cook Casts Doubt on Lower Apple Prices Despite New Memory Suppliers

Apple has spent months searching for new memory chip suppliers to ease one of the biggest pressures facing its business. Naturally, many hoped that if Apple found more suppliers, product prices would eventually come back down.

Tim Cook has now poured a little cold water on that idea. This marked his final earnings call as Apple's CEO before handing quarterly duties to his successor going forward.

Speaking during Apple’s Q3 2026 earnings call, the CEO acknowledged that expanding Apple’s pool of memory suppliers could improve product availability, but he stopped short of suggesting it would reverse the price increases customers have already seen.

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TechloyEmmanuel Umahi

Why Apple is looking for more memory suppliers

Apple has been dealing with soaring DRAM and NAND memory costs as AI infrastructure demand continues to consume a growing share of the world’s memory supply. The shortage has already pushed the company to increase prices across parts of its Mac, iPad, and Home product lines, and analysts expect future iPhones could face similar pressure.

During the earnings call, Cook was asked whether Apple’s efforts to diversify its memory suppliers were mainly about improving supply or reducing costs for customers.