Apple has increased the prices of its Mac and iPad product lines by between 15 per cent and 25 per cent, citing soaring costs of memory and storage chips driven by the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
The price adjustment, reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes just a week after Tim Cook, Apple CEO, warned that rising component costs could force the company to raise prices.
Apple briefly took its online store offline on Thursday, a move typically associated with major product announcements or pricing updates. When the store resumed operations, customers were greeted with significantly higher prices across several Mac and iPad models.
While Mac products recorded price increases of between 15 per cent and 20 per cent, iPad models saw steeper hikes ranging from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Prices of iPhones, however, remain unchanged for now, although Apple indicated that further adjustments across its product portfolio may be necessary if component costs continue to rise.
According to reports by CNBC, Apple attributed the increases to unprecedented demand for memory and storage chips fueled by the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and data centres worldwide.
“The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. The rapid expansion of AI data centres has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage,” Apple said.
The company noted that it had never witnessed such a rapid increase in component costs and had reached a point where price adjustments became unavoidable.
The latest increase affects several flagship products:
- The base MacBook Air now sells for $1,299, up by $200.
- The base MacBook Pro rises by $300 to $1,999.
- The entry-level MacBook Neo increases by $100 to $699.
- The iPad Air now costs $749, following a $150 increase.
- The iPad Pro rises by $200 to $1,199.
Industry analysts say the hikes reflect broader pressures facing technology manufacturers as competition for advanced semiconductor components intensifies.
Research firm TechInsights reported that prices for DRAM memory chips and NAND storage chips have surged fourfold over the past year.
The increase has been driven largely by hyperscale technology companies investing heavily in AI data centres, creating unprecedented demand for high-performance memory and storage components.
TechInsights projects that chip prices will continue to rise into 2027, potentially placing additional cost pressures on manufacturers of smartphones, computers, gaming consoles, automobiles and other consumer electronics.
