Apple raised the prices of its Macs and iPads on June 25, 2026, saying it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry’s data-centre buildout. The move did not affect the iPhone at the time, but analysts quickly warned that the iPhone would follow.
The specific prices that changed
The entry-level MacBook Neo went from $599 to $699. The 512GB MacBook Air rose from $1,099 to $1,299, and the 1TB MacBook Pro from $1,699 to $1,999. The 128GB iPad Air moved from $599 to $749, and the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad Pro from $999 to $1,199. The increases went live on Apple’s online store and apply globally.
Why this happened
Apple called the situation an “unprecedented challenge” for the consumer electronics industry, saying in a written statement: “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”
Then-CEO Tim Cook described the AI-driven chip shortage as being like a 100-year flood, and said the company had been trying to shield customers but that “the situation has become unsustainable.” Apple has reportedly agreed to pay about $2 per gigabit of DRAM for 2027 devices, up from $1.50 per gigabit.
What buyers should know
These are manufacturer price changes, not temporary promotions, and they apply to new purchases rather than devices already owned. If you were planning a Mac or iPad purchase, note that the June increase already reset the baseline — and analysts expect further increases before the end of March 2027. Prices of Macs and iPads also rose again in July 2026 in some markets.
What we did not do
We did not independently verify Apple’s internal component costs or its supplier contracts. The figures above come from the news reporting cited below.
Sources
- Reuters — Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads as memory costs skyrocket
- AP News — Apple increases prices for Macs, iPads amid memory chip shortage
- Bloomberg — Apple Shares Sink After Price Hikes Hit iPads and Macs
- CNBC — Microsoft lifts price of Xbox consoles due to soaring component costs
- Honest Fred — Best Laptops of 2026: Expert Picks
