I am sorry to say, but it doesn’t sound like the head of Apple thinks we are going to get out of the super expensive RAM woods any time soon.

RAM is the quick access source of memory in a computer, and its price has skyrocketed over recent months. In fact, back in November of last year, some shops stopped printing price labels so they could alter the prices daily.

This rising cost has led to memory shortages, and in April, head of Xbox Asha Sharma admitted this could in turn lead to a price bump and limited stock where its next-gen console, Project Helix, is concerned. Meanwhile, in February, Valve was forced to revise its plans for its Steam Machine and Steam Frame hardware due to global memory and storage shortages caused by massive demand from tech giants going all-in on AI data centres.

Which brings me to Apple, and comments from the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook. As reported by CNBC, Cook recently took part in the company’s earnings call, where he told analysts Apple had faced “supply constraints” in the last quarter. “We believe memory costs will drive an increasing impact on our business,” Cook said, adding the company will “continue to evaluate this”.

CNBC noted “Apple’s earnings report, which included an almost across-the-board beat and better-than-expected revenue guidance, came a day after Meta and Microsoft said in their results that higher memory prices contributed to their elevated forecasts for capital expenditures for the year.”

According to Cook, Apple’s revenue grew 17 percent during the second quarter, which exceeded its guidance “despite supply constraints”, and the impact was “minimal”. However, the company head then said Apple will see a big impact on a number of its Mac models for the quarter ending in June, “given the continued high levels of demand” that we’re seeing for memory.

“Apple showed that even the best operators can’t fully escape the memory squeeze,” said Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion, an American provider of financial products. Behan said Cook’s “warning of ‘significantly higher’ costs in the coming quarters” is evidence of “how real the AI-driven supply crunch has become for the entire industry”.

For more on this subject, be sure to check out Bertie’s feature: “It’s a perfect storm of unpreparedness, panic, and greed” – RAM prices are soaring, so what does it mean for gaming?