Apple raised prices across its MacBook and iPad lineup in July as memory and storage chip prices quadrupled over the past three quarters amid surging AI-server demand. Tim Cook, who stepped down as Apple’s chief executive on September 1 after 15 years, described the market as a "hundred-year flood" and said he had never seen a comparable increase in more than 40 years. Elon Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX, endorsed Cook’s assessment on X. Manufacturers are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory for AI servers over conventional consumer-device components, helping Micron’s gross margin reach 84.9% in its most recent quarter from 39% a year earlier. Apple’s price increases of $100 to $300 mark its first formal move to pass higher component costs to customers, while Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Nintendo have made similar adjustments. The pressure could also raise the cost of an upcoming iPhone Pro by more than $200, according to a research-firm estimate, while broader AI infrastructure spending is adding to inflation risks across technology and energy markets.