Apple Raises MacBook and iPad Prices as Memory Costs Continue to Soar
CUPERTINO — Apple raised prices on its iPad and MacBook lines on Thursday, citing soaring costs for memory and storage chips driven by a surge in data centre construction.
The increases affect several models. The MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes of storage rose from $1,099 to $1,299, while the MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte jumped from $1,699 to $1,999. The iPad Air with 128 gigabytes went from $599 to $749. The company also raised prices for both versions of its HomePod smart speaker and Apple TV set‑top box.
Apple also increased the starting price of its lower‑priced MacBook Neo from $599 to $699 — erasing a $100 advantage over Dell’s recently launched XPS 13 and making it more expensive than some Chromebooks.
“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.”
The price surge in dynamic random access memory, used in virtually all modern tech devices, rose as much as 98 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and is expected to jump another 58 to 63 percent in the current quarter, according to industry tracker TrendForce. Memory makers have prioritised orders from large computing firms, leaving limited supply for electronics manufacturers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook warned in April that rising memory costs would begin to weigh on profitability by the end of June. “We expect significantly higher memory costs,” he said on a conference call.
The increases are expected to weigh heavily on device sales this year. Research firm IDC estimates the smartphone market will see its biggest‑ever annual decline of nearly 14 percent, while the PC market is forecast to fall 11.3 percent.
“We had already had signals Apple would need to raise prices, and with their supply chain as good as anyone, there is concern the rest of the industry may have to raise prices even more than Apple,” said Ben Bajarin, CEO of consulting firm Creative Strategies.
The iPhone, Apple’s biggest revenue driver, was not affected by the price increases.
