Apple Bullied Its Memory Suppliers. Now Karma Sends the Bill

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that flash memory suppliers Apple once “bullied” are now “getting their revenge”. According to the report, Apple would order flash at rock-bottom prices and sometimes refuse delivery when prices fell, leaving suppliers with piles of chips custom-made for Apple, and it pushed flash makers to open their books so no one else got a better deal. In 2015, when Sandisk refused to send more supply because others paid more, Apple’s then procurement chief Tony Blevins reportedly said he would have Sandisk’s CEO “crawl on his knees” back to Apple.

Two years ago, Apple bought nearly twice as much flash as Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Google combined, according to TechInsights. Today those companies buy double Apple’s share. NAND prices rose about fivefold in a year, and Apple has raised prices on more than a dozen products this year. TechInsights estimates Apple still makes $134 in gross profit on the $200 upgrade from 256GB to 512GB on the iPhone 18 Pro. Apple told the WSJ: “We’ve worked with many of our suppliers for decades, and we deeply value their partnership over the years.”

In this article: Karma isn’t free · They felt like kings · “Crawl back on his knees” · The cards have turned · A factory? No. A higher price? Yes · Hey Apple, are you out of your mind? · Why did HomePod and Apple TV get more expensive? · “Sweet revenge”? To the Apple fans in the comments · FAQ

Karma isn’t free

So, Apple, the boomerang is coming back. As they say, karma isn’t free. When Apple was the biggest buyer of flash memory on the market, it did whatever it wanted with its suppliers.

Remember: according to the contracts, Apple completely refused batches of flash memory because, at that moment, the price had dropped. What is wrong with that? At that time, Apple was the biggest buyer in the whole world, and that flash was made to measure. And then all that memory stayed in warehouses, because Apple did what it wanted with them and didn’t think for a second that somebody had already worked on it in the background.

Already back then, Apple showed its real self. People just didn’t talk about it much.

They felt like kings

And then they felt like kings and forced the companies to open their accounting, so that nobody could somehow cheat Apple out of a single dollar, so they could be sure they had the best price. That was the peak.

At that time, the companies that were their suppliers didn’t have much choice. They knew that if they didn’t go along and show what Apple wanted, Apple would go to someone else.

“Crawl back on his knees”

And the part I like the most: when Apple threatened Sandisk because it wouldn’t send them memory, since another customer was paying more. Apple’s procurement chief said Sandisk’s boss would come crawling back to Apple on his knees. And Apple knew how its man negotiated.

Well. That didn’t happen. And now it most likely won’t happen either.

The cards have turned

Now the cards have turned. The ones who used to buy less than Apple, name them: Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta. In the AI era they buy twice as much as Apple and are willing to pay more than Apple.

And now the most important point: even though they pay more than Apple, even if they raised some prices, I’m sure it’s not like Apple. They don’t tell you that everything is expensive only because of the memory shortage.

Apple says it raises prices “reluctantly”, and asks $200 for the storage upgrade. But we all know the memory costs about $66. So again, it is only Apple’s greed at the top. I already wrote about the 85% storage margin, and even now Apple keeps about two thirds of that $200 as profit.

Then and now	Number
Apple vs Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta (flash bought), two years ago	Apple ~2x all four combined
Today	The four buy ~2x Apple
NAND price change in one year	about 5x
Flash cost of iPhone 256GB → 512GB upgrade	$15 → $66
Apple’s gross profit on the $200 upgrade	$185 → $134
Apple NAND spending	~$6B (2025) → ~$25B (2026 est.)

A factory? No. A higher price? Yes

Apple is a strange company. It has so much money that it could easily have built its own flash memory factory. But no. They calculated it and said: we won’t do that, we won’t invest in it. Tim Cook ruled it out in June and called the shortage a “hundred-year flood”.

Instead, they found another angle: when memory got more expensive, we can raise the prices of our products even more, even where memory doesn’t play a big role, and keep an 85% margin on storage. I think that, over time, all of this will turn against them too. I don’t want to be mean, but I will be glad when that time comes.

Hey Apple, are you out of your mind?

And now the best part. After everything Apple did for years with its suppliers, playing king in front of them, suddenly it says: we have worked with many of our suppliers for years and we deeply value them.

Hey Apple, are you out of your mind? Do you think we forget how you treated others on the market? And now suddenly you play the clowns. We will never forget your screw-ups, and we applaud when we see how pathetic you look in front of everyone else now. And I like that terribly.

Now I just recommend to Kioxia, which Apple is reportedly negotiating a long-term deal with: do to Apple the same thing Apple did to you when it had the power. Show them how nice it is to stand up for yourself, like everyone else.

Why did HomePod and Apple TV get more expensive?

Apple, please, why don’t you tell us why you raised prices even on things where memory doesn’t play such a big role? Or can you blame that on expensive memory too?

You are proud when you badmouth the competition. And I am not talking only about memory. When you released the iPhone Duo, John Ternus said other foldables felt “cheap and crappy”. So why don’t you say that your Duo looks even worse than all the others, with cracking screens and Samsung laughing at you in an ad? Why?

“Sweet revenge”? To the Apple fans in the comments

Some Apple fans write under the news: we will see how sweet the revenge is when the AI bubble pops and they come crawling back to Apple. I wonder how old you are. You must have a few years behind you, if you don’t know what you are writing about.

AI is a bubble? AI can destroy the income of a giant like Reddit, and you think it’s a bubble? Or are you so in love with Apple that you still believe in Apple’s power and that somebody will come crawling?

What goes around comes around. And that is exactly about Apple. The situation is pulling back on them, for what they did to their suppliers for years. Now it is coming back.

Also on Evolt News: Apple says it raised prices “reluctantly” · iPhone Duo screen cracks

Photo: Apple Park. Nils Huenerfuerst, CC0.

This article is opinion.

Apple and the memory suppliers: FAQ

Why are flash memory suppliers “getting revenge” on Apple?

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple used its position as the biggest flash buyer to push suppliers hard for years. AI data centers now buy far more memory, so suppliers have more pricing power and Apple pays much more.

How much more expensive is flash memory now?

TechInsights says NAND prices rose about fivefold in one year. The flash for a 256GB-to-512GB iPhone 17 Pro upgrade cost Apple about $66, up from $15.

How much does Apple make on storage upgrades?

TechInsights estimates Apple makes $134 in gross profit when a customer pays $200 to upgrade an iPhone 18 Pro from 256GB to 512GB, down from $185 for the same upgrade on the iPhone 17 Pro.

Which Apple products got more expensive?

Apple raised prices on more than a dozen products this year, including iPhones, iPads, Macs, HomePods and the Apple TV, and attributed the increases to the memory chip shortage.

How long will the memory shortage last?

SK Hynix expects demand to exceed supply through 2030. Apple is reportedly negotiating long-term supply deals, including one with Kioxia.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, TechInsights, MacRumors, MacTech, Yahoo Finance, TIME.

Our Take

Apple played king with its memory suppliers for years. Now AI giants pay more, suppliers set the prices, and the boomerang is coming back.

The sad part: Apple passes the bill to you, and still keeps two thirds of every storage upgrade.