- Apple has raised prices across multiple categories
- The MacBook Neo notably got a sizable hike
- The move comes in response to the RAM crisis
While everyone is busy scooping up Amazon Prime Day deals on all manner of gadgets, Apple just dropped the opposite of deal news: price hikes across most major product categories, including the new MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, Apple TV, HomePod mini, and more.
Look, it’s not like we didn’t see this coming. Apple’s outgoing CEO Tim Cook may be the supply chain maverick, ensuring the tech giant had ample supplies of components to fill tech orders for months, but the RAM and component crisis has dragged on for long enough that even Apple has been dragged in.
Cook warned us last month during an earnings call in which he cited “significantly higher memory costs” and then added that, starting this month, RAM prices would “drive an increasing impact” on Apple’s products.
That impact has now translated into higher prices for numerous Apple products, which Apple announced by, well, not really announcing them. Instead, the Apple Store went offline at around 7:30AM ET on Thursday and then returned an hour later with new prices and, basically, no fanfare.
This is gonna hurt
Among the devices seeing a price hike is the exciting and affordable new MacBook Neo, a mobile CPU-powered laptop that was perfectly built for the back-to-school market, and at $599 to start, was Apple’s cheapest laptop in memory. It now starts at $699, which also means the Neo with double the storage (512GB) and TouchID is now $799 to start.
There is essentially bad news across multiple categories.
The MacBook Air 13-inch with the M5 chip, a laptop I called “the best ultraportable I’ve ever used,” jumps from $1,099 to start to $1,299. The MacBook Pro jumps a whopping $300 (from $1,699 to $1,999) to start.
Other products getting price hikes include the Apple TV streaming box (now starts at $199) and HomePod Mini(up to $129 for $99).
Perhaps more disturbing for the back-to-school set, the iPad Air base system jumps from $599 to $699.
One of the more shocking price hikes is for a product that, perhaps thankfully, many will not sweat: the Vision Pro. At $3,499, it was already wildly expensive. Now the M5 edition starts at — wait for it — $3,699. That won’t help its chances with consumer market penetration.
Shielded from these price hikes is Apple’s entire iPhone lineup, Apple Watch, and AirPods. So there’s that.
Here are all of the changes Apple has made, for US and UK markets:
|
Device |
Old price |
New price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
iPad |
$349 |
$449 |
$100 (29%) |
|
iPad Air 11 |
$599 |
$749 |
$150 (25%) |
|
iPad Air 13 |
$749 |
$949 |
$200 (27%) |
|
iPad Pro 11 |
$999 |
$1,199 |
$200 (20%) |
|
iPad Pro 13 |
$1,299 |
$1,499 |
$200 (15%) |
|
iPad mini |
$499 |
$599 |
$100 (20%) |
|
Device |
Old price |
New price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
iPad |
£329 |
£429 |
£100 (30%) |
|
iPad Air 11 |
£599 |
£749 |
£150 (25%) |
|
iPad Air 13 |
£799 |
£949 |
£150 (19%) |
|
iPad Pro 11 |
£999 |
£1,199 |
£200 (20%) |
|
iPad Pro 13 |
£1,299 |
£1,499 |
£200 (15%) |
|
iPad mini |
£499 |
£599 |
£100 (20%) |
|
Device |
Old price |
New price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
MacBook Neo |
$599 |
$699 |
$100 (17%) |
|
MacBook Air 13 |
$1,099 |
$1,299 |
$200 (18%) |
|
MacBook Air 15 |
$1,299 |
$1,499 |
$200 (15%) |
|
MacBook Pro M5 |
$1,699 |
$1,999 |
$300 (18%) |
|
MacBook Pro M5 Pro |
$2,199 |
$2,499 |
$300 (14%) |
|
MacBook Pro M5 Max |
$3,599 |
$4,099 |
$500 (14%) |
|
Mac mini* |
$599 |
$799 |
$200 (33%) |
|
iMac |
$1,299 |
$1,499 |
$200 (15%) |
|
Mac Studio (M4 Max) |
$1,999 |
$2,499 |
$500 (25%) |
|
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) |
$3,999 |
$5,299 |
$1,300 (33%) |
|
Device |
Old price |
New price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
MacBook Neo |
£599 |
£699 |
£100 (17%) |
|
MacBook Air 13 |
£1,099 |
£1,299 |
£200 (18%) |
|
MacBook Air 15 |
£1,299 |
£1,499 |
£200 (15%) |
|
MacBook Pro M5 |
£1,699 |
£1,999 |
£300 (18%) |
|
MacBook Pro M5 Pro |
£2,199 |
£2,499 |
£300 (14%) |
|
MacBook Pro M5 Max |
£3,599 |
£4,099 |
£500 (14%) |
|
Mac mini* |
£699 |
£799 |
£100 (14%) |
|
iMac |
£1,299 |
£1,499 |
£200 (15%) |
|
Mac Studio (M4 Max) |
£1,999 |
£2,499 |
£500 (25%) |
|
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) |
£3,999 |
£5,299 |
£1,300 (33%) |
|
Device |
Old price |
New price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HomePod mini |
$99 |
$129 |
$30 (30%) |
|
HomePod |
$299 |
$349 |
$50 (17%) |
|
Apple TV 4K |
$129 |
$199 |
$70 (54%) |
|
Vision Pro |
$3,499 |
$3,699 |
$200 (6%) |
|
Device |
Old price |
New price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HomePod mini |
£99 |
£129 |
£30 (30%) |
|
HomePod |
£299 |
£349 |
£50 (17%) |
|
Apple TV 4K |
£149 |
£199 |
£50 (34%) |
|
Vision Pro |
£3,199 |
£3,499 |
£300 (9%) |
It’s fairly clear Apple didn’t want to do this. In fact, it’s hard to remember a time when Apple summarily raised so many prices at once, but its hand was forced. Tech companies across almost every category are responding to these RAM shortages with higher prices.
We’ve contacted Apple and then sent us this comment: “The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. 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. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac. We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions.”
If and when the RAM crisis subsides, will prices return to pre-RAM shortage levels, or is Apple setting a new normal? Only time will tell.
Go find the deals
In the meantime, Prime Day is still live, and there are ample chances to snap up good deals on these gadgets before you’re left with nothing but the higher prices (where prices are rising). You’ll find the best deals we spotted on iPads, MacBooks, and more below and in this roundup.
Prime Day iPad deals
Prime Day MacBook deals
Prime Day AirPod deals
Prime Day Apple Watch deals
Prime Day AirTag deals
Read the full article here
