US: Apple and Microsoft have announced significant price increases across several of their flagship products, citing an unprecedented surge in memory and storage chip costs driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Apple raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineup, with several models recording increases of more than 20 percent. The company said that it had absorbed higher component costs for as long as possible but could no longer avoid passing part of the burden on to customers.
The base-model MacBook Air now costs $1,299 in the United States, up from $1,099, while the entry-level MacBook Pro has increased from $1,699 to $1,999. The iPad Air now starts at $749 instead of $599, and the iPad Pro has risen from $999 to $1,199.
Apple also increased the price of its budget-friendly MacBook Neo from $599 to $699. The largest jump came for the Mac Studio M3 Ultra desktop computer, whose starting price climbed from $3,999 to $5,299.
In a statement, Apple said the explosive expansion of AI data centers has created exceptional demand for memory and storage components, pushing costs to levels the company has not experienced before.
The announcement unsettled investors, with Apple shares falling more than six percent, marking the company’s steepest single-day decline since the market reaction to US tariff announcements in April last year.
Microsoft has also revised prices for its Xbox gaming consoles, increasing the cost of the 512GB and 1TB models by $100 and $150, respectively.
The company had worked with suppliers for months in an effort to avoid another increase but described the rise in memory and storage prices as unavoidable. Microsoft stated that storage and memory component costs have already risen more than two-and-a-half times and could double again by late 2027.
According to the company, the broader consumer electronics industry is grappling with the same supply pressures, although gaming consoles are among the hardest hit because of their heavy reliance on high-performance memory.
The latest announcements from both technology giants highlight how the AI boom is reshaping the electronics industry, with soaring demand for advanced chips now influencing the prices of everyday consumer devices.
