Apple Raises Mac and iPad Prices as Memory Costs Climb
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple’s latest price increases are an unusually broad response to higher memory and storage costs tied to AI data-center demand. The increases hit Macs, iPads, home devices and Vision Pro, with the sharpest demand risk in categories where buyers have cheaper alternatives, especially iPads, Apple TV and HomePod. Gurman also reads Apple’s wording as leaving room for another round, potentially including the iPhone and Apple Watch when new models arrive in September.
Apple’s price move is broad, and the displayed increases are concentrated in Macs and iPads
Mark Gurman described Apple’s latest pricing move as “largely unprecedented” in the company’s modern history because it reaches across several product categories at once. Apple had not previously raised prices across “several different products” and “much of its product lineup” in this way, he said.
There hasn't been a time where they've hiked the prices across several different products across much of its product lineup.
| Product | New price | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Neo | $699 | +$100 (+16.7%) |
| MacBook Air | $1,299 | +$200 (+18.2%) |
| 14-inch MacBook Pro | $1,999 | +$300 (+17.7%) |
| 11-inch iPad Pro | $1,199 | +$200 (+20.0%) |
| iPad Air | $749 | +$150 (+25.0%) |
The on-screen table showed selected Mac and iPad increases: the MacBook Air rising by $200 to $1,299, the 14-inch MacBook Pro by $300 to $1,999, the 11-inch iPad Pro by $200 to $1,199, and the iPad Air by $150 to $749. Among the displayed products, the iPad Air had the largest percentage increase.
The affected set described on air was broader than the table. Gurman named iPad, Mac, HomePod, Apple TV, and Vision Pro as part of the pricing action, while saying the current round leaves out some accessories and, at least for now, the iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch. Ed Ludlow framed the issue as “all about memory at the end of the day,” and said Apple was tying the pressure to what is happening in AI data centers. Ludlow also said Apple was presenting the move as something it had delayed “for the longest time possible” before concluding it had no choice.
The demand risk is sharper outside the Mac
Mark Gurman did not treat all of the increases as equally dangerous for Apple. He called the price hikes “pretty significant,” but said they were not necessarily going to be a major deterrent to customers, particularly on the Mac side.
The iPad was less comfortable territory. Gurman said the iPad increases made him “a little uneasy,” citing competition in the tablet market and upgrade cycles. Home devices carried a similar risk in a different market: he called the Apple TV and HomePod increases “pretty significant,” and said they could be dangerous because customers have cheaper alternatives from Amazon, Google, and elsewhere.
Gurman also framed Apple’s move as more consequential than similar increases from other consumer-electronics companies. Competitors had already raised prices in prior months, he said, making Apple “fairly late” to this round of increases. But because Apple is Apple — “the most popular consumer electronics company,” in his words — he called its decision “the biggest of all big deals” when it comes to consumer-electronics pricing.
Apple’s wording leaves open a second round
The cost explanation was not the most surprising part of Apple’s statement to Mark Gurman. He said the link to AI data centers, memory, and storage pressure was already understood. What stood out was Apple’s phrasing: the company described the increases as the ones happening “today.”
Gurman interpreted that wording as a serious hint that Apple could raise prices on additional products later. He specifically named the iPhone and Apple Watch as products that could be affected in September, when Apple announces new models.
The current set of changes leaves the iPhone outside the affected group, even though Gurman called it Apple’s most important product. If Apple extends the pricing strategy, September would be the moment to watch.