Apple, Microsoft raise device prices amid AI-driven chip shortage

Consumers now face higher costs for laptops, tablets and gaming consoles as memory chip prices surge. Apple and Microsoft both announced increases on the same day, attributing them to demand from AI data centers that has more than doubled storage and memory expenses since last fall.

Apple raised the base MacBook Air from $1,099 to $1,299, the entry-level MacBook Pro from $1,699 to $1,999, the iPad Air from $599 to $749 and the iPad Pro from $999 to $1,199. The Mac Studio M3 Ultra jumped from $3,999 to $5,299. The company stated it had absorbed earlier cost increases but had reached the point where further rises were required. Microsoft lifted prices on 512 GB and 1 TB Xbox models by $100 and $150 respectively, noting that console margins are too thin to absorb the component increases and warning of another doubling by fall 2027.

Apple’s shares fell more than 6 percent after the announcement. Analysts including Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities and Nabila Popal of IDC observed that the moves could foreshadow iPhone price adjustments and that demand for Apple hardware remains relatively inelastic. No iPhone changes have been announced. The pattern extends beyond these two companies: Sony and Nintendo have also raised console prices in recent months.

The increases mark a reversal of the long-term decline in consumer electronics prices. Storage and memory costs have risen faster than at any point in more than four decades, according to statements from both firms. Refurbished and sale inventory remains one immediate option for buyers seeking to avoid the new levels.