Its latest iPhone 17 Pro series and the newly launched low-cost MacBook Neo laptop are both drawing buyers at a time of low overall demand in the consumer electronics industry due to price hikes forced by the memory chip shortage.
Even though Apple’s margins for the January-March quarter and its fiscal third-quarter forecast were above Wall Street estimates, outgoing CEO Tim Cook warned that higher memory costs would increasingly weigh on the business from June.
Limited supply of the advanced processors for iPhone has already hampered Apple’s ability to capitalise on strong demand. The chips are made by Taiwan’s, the leading producer of AI processors.
Analysts say Apple’s clout with long-time suppliers could position it better than rivals in securing memory chips, but it might have to raise prices later this year.
–Reuters–
