Apple raised prices on its Mac computers, iPads, Vision Pro headset, HomePod speakers, and Apple TV set-top boxes on Thursday, the first time the company has imposed mid-cycle price increases across this many product lines at once.
The increases went live globally on Apple’s online store Thursday morning, briefly taking down the site. Macs saw increases of US$100 to $300 (approximately £80 to £240) depending on the model. The MacBook Neo, Apple’s lowest-priced laptop aimed at competing with affordable Windows and Chromebook laptops, jumped from US$599 to $699 (from £484 to £565). iPads climbed US$150 to $200 (£121 to £162), with the iPad Air rising by $150.
The iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods were not affected, but Apple left the door open to further increases, stating it had “reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products”, a phrase analysts interpreted as a warning about the iPhone 18, due this autumn.
Root cause: the AI memory squeeze
The price hikes are driven by a global shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory. An unprecedented wave of AI data centre construction has sent demand for high-bandwidth memory soaring. Memory manufacturers including Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung have diverted production capacity toward HBM for AI accelerators, leaving less conventional memory available for consumer electronics.
The result has been dramatic component cost inflation. TrendForce reported DRAM prices surging by as much as 98 percent in a single quarter. Apple had been absorbing these cost increases using its purchasing leverage and inventory buffers, but described the situation as having become unsustainable.
“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said in a statement. “We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices.”
Warnings that came true
Apple CEO Tim Cook had flagged the risk months earlier. On an earnings call in late April, Cook said the company expected “significantly higher memory costs” and noted they would “drive an increasing impact on our business” beyond the June quarter. Apple shares fell following the price hike announcement, according to Bloomberg.
No relief in sight
The supply situation is structural, not cyclical. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has said there will be “no relief until 2028.” New fabrication capacity from major memory makers is not expected to come fully online until 2030. The same pressures are reverberating across the entire consumer electronics industry: Microsoft’s Xbox division followed Apple with its own price increases on the same day.
With memory inflation showing no signs of abating and AI infrastructure investment still accelerating, analysts expect further price adjustments from Apple on additional products, including the iPhone 18, later this year.
Sources: Apple raises prices on Macs, iPads, and more (The Verge, June 25, 2026); Apple raises Mac and iPad prices as chip costs surge (Cybernews, June 25, 2026); Apple Raises Mac and iPad Prices Up to $300 (TechTimes, June 25, 2026); Apple Shares Sink After Price Hikes (Bloomberg, June 25, 2026)