Apple has announced a £100 increase in the price of all iPhones, including older models. This rise was revealed during a recent product launch that also featured the company's first folding phone.
The price adjustment is attributed to a phenomenon dubbed “RAMageddon,” which has reversed a long-standing trend of decreasing electronics costs. This situation stems from the high demand for memory chips by AI datacentres, leading to a significant shortage of these and other essential components for electronic devices, including phones.
Francisco Jeronimo, vice-president of client devices at research company IDC, noted that component costs have risen sharply, with memory alone increasing by over 300% year-on-year. Apple is pricing older iPhones as current products because they utilise the same expensive memory as newer models.
Other smartphone manufacturers, such as Samsung and Google, have also raised prices on their flagship phones by up to £80. Apple has additionally increased the price of its refurbished stock by ��60 to £70, though this has not yet impacted the third-party refurbished iPhone market, according to Uswitch data.
IDC forecasts the steepest annual contraction in worldwide smartphone sales on record for this year, predicting a nearly 17% fall to just over 1 billion handsets. Jeronimo stated that consumers are buying fewer phones but paying considerably more for them.
Memory prices are expected to continue rising into 2027, and key memory producers, including SK Hynix, suggest that shortages could persist beyond 2030. Jeronimo indicated that even if memory costs ease, smartphone prices are unlikely to return to previous levels, suggesting that the era of inexpensive smartphones may be over.