Apple raises iPad and MacBook prices, blaming cost of chips amid AI boom
✓Apple raised iPad and MacBook prices on Thursday, saying it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry’s datacenter buildout.
The move does not affect Apple’s cash cow, the iPhone. But it would take starting price of the Neo, its lowest priced laptop, from $599 to $699 mere months after launch.
The increase shows that even the world’s most valuable consumer electronics company, with supply-chain relationships that are the envy of the industry, is not immune to a memory price surge that has dulled the outlook for smartphone and PC sales.
Memory makers such as Micron have in recent months prioritized orders from AI chipmakers such as Nvidia. The move has helped the memory makers to record profits, but has left little supply for electronics makers. Those, in turn, have been forced to increase prices.
“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said in a statement. “We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac.”
Prices of a MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes went up $200. A MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of storage will become $300 more expensive Apple also raised prices for both versions of its HomePod smart speaker and Apple TV set-top box. Shares of the company fell nearly 5%, while rival Dell was down more than 8%.
Apple’s deep supplier ties have provided some cushion, several analysts said – some of its rivals have been forced to raise prices even more sharply.
Still, analysts expect prices for the iPhone to go up next.
“The iPhone isn’t spared. Its hike is coming,” said Nabila Popal, a senior research director at IDC. “It was incredibly strategic for Apple to make the price hike announcements prior to the iPhone fall launch, so the headlines at launch is not the price hikes but the value the new phones bring.“
Prices of dynamic random access memory, used in virtually all modern tech gadgets, rose as much as 98% in the first quarter of 2026 and is set to jump by another 58% to 63% in the current quarter, according to industry tracker TrendForce.
That surge, dubbed by some experts as “Ram-ageddon“, has been driven by a boom in AI data center construction, with companies like Nvidia signing long-term deals with memory makers who are racing to increase capacity.
Micron said on Wednesday it has locked in $22bn in such long-term commitments from customers looking to secure their memory supplies.
The rising costs are expected to weigh heavily on device sales this year, with research firm IDC estimating that the smartphone market would see its biggest-ever annual decline of nearly 14% this year while the PC market would fall 11.3%.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Apple announced price increases for iPad and MacBook models on Thursday, attributing the move to rising memory and storage chip costs. Memory chip prices have increased sharply due to AI industry demand for datacenter construction, with dynamic RAM costs rising as much as 98% in the first quarter of 2026. Apple stated it had previously absorbed these costs but reached a point where price increases became necessary. MacBook Air starting prices rose $200, while MacBook Pro models increased $300. The iPhone was not affected by these increases. Industry analysts note that even Apple's substantial supplier relationships could not fully shield it from the surge, and expect iPhone prices will rise in the coming months. Other consumer electronics makers have implemented larger price increases due to weaker supply-chain positioning.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Apple raised iPad and MacBook prices on Thursday, saying it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry’s datacenter buildout.
The move does not affect Apple’s cash cow, the iPhone. But it would take starting price of the Neo, its lowest priced laptop, from $599 to $699 mere months after launch.
The increase shows that even the world’s most valuable consumer electronics company, with supply-chain relationships that are the envy of the industry, is not immune to a memory price surge that has dulled the outlook for smartphone and PC sales.
Memory makers such as Micron have in recent months prioritized orders from AI chipmakers such as Nvidia. The move has helped the memory makers to record profits, but has left little supply for electronics makers. Those, in turn, have been forced to increase prices.
“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said in a statement. “We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac.”
Prices of a MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes went up $200. A MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of storage will become $300 more expensive Apple also raised prices for both versions of its HomePod smart speaker and Apple TV set-top box. Shares of the company fell nearly 5%, while rival Dell was down more than 8%.
Apple’s deep supplier ties have provided some cushion, several analysts said – some of its rivals have been forced to raise prices even more sharply.
Still, analysts expect prices for the iPhone to go up next.
“The iPhone isn’t spared. Its hike is coming,” said Nabila Popal, a senior research director at IDC. “It was incredibly strategic for Apple to make the price hike announcements prior to the iPhone fall launch, so the headlines at launch is not the price hikes but the value the new phones bring.“
Prices of dynamic random access memory, used in virtually all modern tech gadgets, rose as much as 98% in the first quarter of 2026 and is set to jump by another 58% to 63% in the current quarter, according to industry tracker TrendForce.
That surge, dubbed by some experts as “Ram-ageddon“, has been driven by a boom in AI data center construction, with companies like Nvidia signing long-term deals with memory makers who are racing to increase capacity.
Micron said on Wednesday it has locked in $22bn in such long-term commitments from customers looking to secure their memory supplies.
The rising costs are expected to weigh heavily on device sales this year, with research firm IDC estimating that the smartphone market would see its biggest-ever annual decline of nearly 14% this year while the PC market would fall 11.3%.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Apple raised prices for iPad and MacBook products on Thursday Apple cited soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry's datacenter buildout The MacBook Neo's starting price increased from $599 to $699 months after launch MacBook Air 512GB prices rose $200 and MacBook Pro 1TB prices rose $300 iPhone prices were not affected by these increases Dynamic random access memory prices rose as much as 98% in the first quarter of 2026 Memory prices are set to jump by another 58% to 63% in the current quarter Micron locked in $22 billion in long-term memory supply commitments Apple said it had never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly Apple's deep supplier ties provided some cushion compared to rivals forced to raise prices more sharply Analysts expect iPhone prices will increase in the coming months The smartphone market is estimated to see its biggest-ever annual decline of nearly 14% this year
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
- Apple raised prices for iPad and MacBook products, citing unprecedented chip cost increases driven by AI datacenter demand
- Memory chip prices surged up to 98% in early 2026 as AI companies like Nvidia secured long-term supply deals, leaving less capacity for consumer electronics makers
- iPhone prices remain unchanged for now, but analysts expect increases ahead; competitors have raised prices more sharply than Apple due to weaker supplier relationships
- The memory shortage is projected to reduce smartphone sales by 14% and PC sales by 11.3% this year