Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket 

By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO, June 25 (Reuters) - Apple raised iPad and MacBook prices connected Thursday, saying it could nary longer shield customers from soaring representation and retention spot costs driven by the AI industry's datacenter buildout.

The determination does not impact Apple's main ‌cash cow, the iPhone. But it would instrumentality starting terms of the Neo - its lowest priced laptop aimed astatine winning marketshare from affordable ‌Windows and Chromebook laptops - from $599 to $699 months aft launch.

The summation shows adjacent the world's astir invaluable user electronics institution with proviso concatenation relationships that are the envy of the manufacture is ​not immune to a representation terms surge that has dulled the outlook for smartphone and PC sales.

Memory makers specified arsenic Micron person successful caller months prioritized orders from AI chipmakers similar Nvidia, helping them gain grounds nett but leaving small proviso for electronics makers that person been forced to summation prices.

"We person ne'er seen a constituent terms summation this much, this quickly," Apple said successful a statement. "We person shielded our customers from these increases truthful far, but we person present ‌reached a constituent wherever we request to statesman raising ⁠prices connected a fig of products, including today's increases for iPad and Mac."

Apple hiked the terms of MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes of retention roseate to $1,299 from $1,099, portion the MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of retention roseate to $1,999 from $1,699, according ⁠to updated prices connected its website. The iPad Air with 128 gigabytes of retention roseate from $599 to $749, among different changes.

The institution said successful April existing inventories had helped it support its gross margins supra Wall Street expectations but that rising representation costs would commencement to drawback up by the extremity of this month, with profitability ​expected to ​fall slightly.

"We expect importantly higher representation costs," CEO Tim Cook said connected a league ​call with analysts successful precocious April.

"Where we don't springiness colour ‌beyond June, I tin archer you that beyond the June quarter, we judge representation costs volition thrust an expanding interaction connected our business," Cook had said.

MEMORY SURGE ADDS PRESSURE ON ELECTRONICS MAKERS

Apple has not disclosed what steps too terms hike it has taken to code rising representation costs. The institution said connected Thursday, "We cognize this is not invited news, and we are moving tirelessly to find solutions."

Prices of dynamic random entree memory, utilized successful virtually each modern tech gadgets, roseate arsenic overmuch arsenic 98% successful the archetypal 4th of 2026 and is acceptable to leap by different 58% to 63% successful the existent ‌quarter, according to manufacture tracker TrendForce.