Apple raises Mac and iPad prices as RAM costs surge

Apple briefly took its online store offline and returned with higher prices: the MacBook Air now starts at $1,299 (up from $1,099); the MacBook Pro at $1,999 (up from $1,699); the MacBook Neo at $699 (up from $599); the iPad Air at $749 (up from $599); the iPad Pro at $1,199 (up from $999); and the M4 Max Mac Studio is up to $2,499 from $1,999.

Until now Apple had been an exception during the broader memory crisis, keeping prices steady through supplier relationships and its existing pricing strategy. The company said, "We have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly." Apple is not raising iPhone prices for the moment, though it has not ruled that out.

Outgoing CEO Tim Cook said, "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable… we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable," and added, "We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products.

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