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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor

‘RAMageddon’: tech crunch hikes the price of your next iPhone by £100

A hand holding an Apple iPhone 17 focusing on narrow boats for a picture
Sales of smartphones are predicted to fall steeply this year. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Apple’s recent product launch caused headlines around the world as it unveiled its first folding phone. But hidden in the slick technology showcase was a nasty surprise: a £100 increase in the price of all iPhones, including older models.

It is blamed on “RAMageddon”, which has reversed a decades-long trend of electronics becoming cheaper. It is the fallout from the AI gold rush hoovering up every memory chip available for vast datacentres. This has led to a severe shortage of the chips, and other critical components, for electronics, including phones.

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