Apple raises prices for MacBooks and iPads, as costs soar over AI

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MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro)

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Apple said Thursday it was raising prices for its MacBook computers, iPad tablets and other products, citing spiraling memory and storage costs sparked by the rise of artificial intelligence.

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The price hikes — the first concrete change stemming from outgoing CEO Tim Cook’s repeated warnings about rising costs — sent Apple shares plummeting more than 4.7 percent in morning trade.

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On its US website, price increases ranged from $30 to $300. The 14-inch MacBook Pro, which once sold for $1,700, now retails for $2,000, while the iPad Air increased from $600 to $750.

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The Apple TV streaming device rose from $130 to $200.

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For now, the price of the iPhone — the company’s main source of revenue — remained unchanged.

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“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement sent to multiple media outlets.

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“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”

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Apple did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

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The Cupertino, California-based tech giant — which notched an all-time revenue record of $416 billion in the last fiscal year — insisted it had “shielded our customers from these increases so far” but could no longer do so.

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Last week, Cook set the stage when he told The Wall Street Journal that price increases were “unavoidable.”

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“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” Cook said, deeming the spike in prices a “hundred-year flood.”

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The rapid buildout of AI data centers has sent the cost of memory chips and RAM skyrocketing — as the components are found in nearly all electronic devices — with the chips undergoing quarterly price increases of at least 50 percent since late 2025.

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It will fall to John Ternus to handle the fallout at Apple — he will succeed Cook as CEO on September 1, just days before the new generation of iPhones is unveiled.

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AFP

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