TL;DRApple says rising memory and storage costs will force price hikes across its products, potentially starting with the iPhone 18 series.If Apple raises prices, Android brands may find it easier to justify charging more for their own phones.AI’s massive appetite for memory chips is driving up component costs, putting pricing pressure on the entire smartphone industry.Apple’s expected price hikes may not stop at the iPhone — they could reshape Android pricing, too. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the company is preparing to raise prices due to soaring memory and storage costs. He didn’t say which products would be affected or when the increases would arrive, but the signal itself is arguably more important than the details.When the world’s biggest smartphone brand says higher prices are unavoidable, it rarely remains an Apple-only story. The immediate assumption is that the iPhone 18 series could become more expensive later this year. That may happen, or Apple could spread the increases across other products first. Either way, Cook’s comments effectively validate what much of the industry has been hinting at for months: the cost of building modern consumer electronics is rising, and somebody eventually has to pay the bill. For Android manufacturers, that message could prove especially useful.