Apple raises device prices on AI chip costs as iOS 27 ships Gemini-powered Siri overhaul

Apple raised prices across devices, explicitly blaming surging AI memory and chip costs — the same cost pressure pushing Amazon and others to hike cloud prices. Simultaneously, WWDC 2026's headline was a major Siri overhaul powered by Google's Gemini models, enabling multi-turn conversations, on-screen context awareness and deeper personal-data integration across apps.

The Gemini partnership is the strategically loaded detail: rather than ship a fully in-house frontier assistant, Apple is leaning on Google's models to power the new Siri, a pragmatic acknowledgment of where frontier capability sits. The catch — the upgraded Siri won't come to all devices, a limitation that conveniently pushes users toward new Apple TV and HomePod hardware. iOS 27 also adds Apple Intelligence touches like one-tap Messages suggestions.

There are two friction points. First, the EU rollout for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 faces delays attributed to the Digital Markets Act, leaving European users behind. Second, pairing a price increase with an AI feature that excludes older hardware risks a backlash narrative that Apple is monetizing AI through forced upgrades.

Competitively, the Gemini deal deepens Google's reach into the iPhone install base — a major distribution win for Gemini even as Google's own flagship Gemini 3.5 Pro slips — while underscoring Apple's continued lag in homegrown frontier models. Watch how the price hikes land with consumers against the chip-cost justification, whether the Gemini-Siri experience actually differentiates from rivals, and when (or whether) EU users get parity. The broader signal: even Apple, with its silicon advantages, is exposed to the industry-wide AI cost squeeze.