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

Apple announced Thursday it is raising prices for its MacBook computers, iPad tablets, and other products, citing spiraling memory and storage costs directly linked to the burgeoning demand fueled by artificial intelligence.

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The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage.

These price increases, the first concrete action following outgoing CEO Tim Cook's repeated warnings about escalating costs, saw Apple shares drop more than 4.7 percent in morning trading. On Apple's U.S. website, the price hikes range from $30 to $300. For instance, the 14-inch MacBook Pro, previously priced at $1,700, now retails for $2,000, and the iPad Air has seen its price jump from $600 to $750. The Apple TV streaming device also increased from $130 to $200. Notably, the price of the iPhone, Apple's primary revenue generator, remains unchanged for now.

"The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," an Apple spokesperson stated in a release to multiple media outlets. "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly." Apple did not immediately respond to further requests for comment.

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

The tech giant, headquartered in Cupertino, California, which achieved an all-time revenue record of $416 billion in the last fiscal year, emphasized that it had "shielded our customers from these increases so far" but could no longer sustain this practice. Last week, Cook had prepared the ground by telling The Wall Street Journal that price increases were "unavoidable."

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unavoidable.

"There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases," Cook explained, characterizing the price spike as a "hundred-year flood." The rapid buildout of AI data centers has caused memory chip and RAM costs to skyrocket, impacting nearly all electronic devices. These chips have seen quarterly price increases of at least 50 percent since late 2025. Incoming CEO John Ternus, who succeeds Cook on September 1, will face the challenge of managing these market shifts.

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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.