tech
Apple posts worst day in over a year after MacBook and iPad price hikes
Tim Cook said last week that Apple would hike prices due to surging memory and storage costs.
TL;DR
- Apple has increased prices on select MacBook and iPad models.
- The price hikes are attributed to rising costs of memory and storage components, exacerbated by demand from AI data centers.
- MacBook Neo entry model price increased from $599 to $699.
- MacBook Air 512GB increased from $1099 to $1299.
- MacBook Pro 1T increased from $1699 to $1999.
- iPad Air 128GB increased from $599 to $749.
- iPad Pro Wifi 256GB increased from $999 to $1199.
- Apple's stock fell over 6% on the day of the announcement, marking its worst performance since April 2025.
- CEO Tim Cook described the component cost increases as a 'hundred-year flood'.
- Memory and storage prices have quadrupled in the past three quarters, according to Counterpoint Research.
- The increased component costs could add approximately $200 per iPhone, with expected price increases of $150-$200 across Apple's lineup.
- Apple's strategy includes emphasizing higher-memory configurations and potentially phasing out lower-cost options, as seen with the Mac mini.