Cook’s pricing comments are a rare example of Apple openly responding to a component cost environment. In the Wall Street Journal interview published after market close on June 17th, Cook said price increases are “unavoidable,” but did not detail which products will be affected. This follows his prior earnings call comment that it was still to be determined how Apple would navigate the higher memory cost environment.

The key takeaway is shares of AAPL traded up 0.5% after hours on the Journal report, which I believe accurate reflects the higher visibility investors have that FY27 gross margins will be essentially flat from the Mar’26 levels (49%) in FY27. Currently, the Street is expecting FY27 gross margins of 48%.

I estimate Apple will raise hardware prices by about 4% on average, which after factoring in Services, that translates to roughly a 3% lift to total FY27 revenue. In other words, current FY27 revenue growth expectations of around 8% likely move closer to 11% from pricing alone.

Bloomberg’s Gurman reported that Apple will launch the Pro, Pro Max, and new foldable iPhone this fall, while the iPhone 18 and second-generation iPhone Air are getting pushed into the the spring. That timing shift will move some demand between fiscal quarters. More importantly, Apple is finding another way to push consumers up the price curve. By releasing the highest-end phones first, Apple gives users a reason to pay up rather than wait. That is classic Apple: subtle product timing that improves mix by pushing some buyers who would normally upgrade to the new base iPhone in September to trade up into higher-end models in the fall.

The key point is investors should expect noisier quarterly iPhone growth, especially around the transition from the fall launch window to the spring launch window, but the change will have little impact on overall revenue in FY27.

Below are my expectations of what the new timing of iPhone’s means, along with the release of the new foldable iPhone on the next several quarters:

Based on Gurman’s reporting, it’s becoming more clear that the foldable iPhone will be here in the fall, which I believe the Street is not currently fully modeling.

I expect the foldable phone to launch in October at around a $2,200 average selling price, which compares to an overall average of about $875.  Most buyers will likely come from the high-end iPhone base, especially Pro Max users already paying around $1,200. That means the net revenue impact is not the full $2,200, but closer to a $1,000 incremental price lift per converted user.

Assuming the foldable accounts for about 3% of total iPhone units, that would add roughly $9B in annual revenue, or add about 2% of incremental growth, after factoring in the cannibalization.

The Street is currently modeling FY27 iPhone growth around 6%. Between the impact of the timing of the staggered iPhone sales shifting from FY26 into FY27, stronger high-end mix, and the foldable contribution, I believe iPhone growth is more likely to land around 10%.

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