There is growing speculation that Apple may hike the prices of its iPhone 17 lineup as soon as this month, following CEO Tim Cook's recent comments about "unavoidable" price increases.

Last week, Cook told The Wall Street Journal that Apple is no longer able to absorb the increased cost of memory and storage chips, both of which are in high demand from AI and neocloud companies as they continue to build more data centers.

The scale of the AI infrastructure buildout has prompted debate over whether demand will ultimately justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested, but for now it is helping to drive supply constraints across the semiconductor industry. Cook likened the memory shortages to a hundred-year flood. "I've never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years," he said.

Multiple companies have already raised their prices, including Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, and Dell. Apple is now expected to follow suit. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes that the timing of Cook's comments likely indicates price hikes are "imminent." Gurman has also linked potential price hikes to Apple's Back to School sale, which is expected to be announced imminently. His thinking is that Apple may tie the two things together as a "buffer."

Apple holds a Back to School sale each June, providing teachers and students with free accessories or gift cards when purchasing a Mac or an iPad. The added bonus is in addition to Apple's educational discount. The Back to School sale typically takes place around WWDC, and in three of the last five years, it has started 8 to 10 days after the WWDC keynote. That could mean we see it announced as soon as this week.

Either way, Gurman believes the price hikes are "not a fall thing." In other words, they won't be introduced when new iPhone 18 Pro models launch. The price of Apple's current flagship lineup could go up before then, as also suggested over the weekend by Chinese supply chain leaker Ice Universe.

Apple's existing iPhone prices are as follows:

• iPhone 17e: from $599
• iPhone 17: from $799
• iPhone Air: from $999
• iPhone 17 Pro: from $1,099
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: from $1,199

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal has published its own analysis estimating the iPhone 18 Pro could start as high as $1,399.

Prices on iPads and Macs could also go up in the near future.