Apple Inc. shares fell on Thursday after the company announced global price increases for all Macs, iPads, home devices, and the Vision Pro. These adjustments, which went live on Apple's online retail store, are a direct response to a significant shortage of memory chips and storage, which has driven up manufacturing costs. The company stated that it did not raise prices for iPhones, Apple Watches, or AirPods at this time but indicated that further price adjustments for additional products might occur in the future.
The price hikes are a move to counteract rising expenses attributed to an "extraordinary surge" in demand for chips, particularly for AI data centers. Apple acknowledged the severity of the situation, stating, "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly." While some tech analysts like Paolo Pescatore suggest that Apple's loyal customer base may tolerate the price increases, others view this as an indication that the "AI boom is now affecting consumer electronics."
Specific price increases included the MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of storage, which rose from $1,699 to $1,999 in the US. In the UK, the entry-level MacBook Neo increased from £599 to £699. The iPad Air with 128 gigabytes of storage saw its price go from $599 to $749. Apple also increased prices for both versions of its HomePod smart speaker and the Apple TV set-top box. These changes led to Apple's stock falling by nearly 6% from its session high to around $279, as investors considered the potential impact on consumer demand and sales.
Tim Cook, Apple's outgoing Chief Executive, had previously hinted at these changes earlier in June, telling The Wall Street Journal that price increases were "unavoidable" due to the "unsustainable" situation with memory chips. He emphasized the need for memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. The soaring costs have impacted a wide range of companies and products across the technology sector, including PCs and consoles, with contract prices for DRAM, used in most tech gadgets, having risen as much as 98% in Q1 2026 and projected to increase another 58% to 63% in the current quarter, according to TrendForce.
