Apple passed its component costs to customers on June 25, raising prices across Macs, iPads, HomePods, and Apple TV.
The increases range from modest to painful. The base iPad jumped 29% ($349 to $449), the Mac mini climbed 33% ($599 to $799), and the Mac Studio with M3 Ultra rose 33% ($3,999 to $5,299). MacBook Pro pricing spread across a range: the base M5 model rose 18% ($1,699 to $1,999), while the M5 Pro and M5 Max each saw 14% increases. Apple's stated reason was blunt: "The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage." Notably absent from today's hikes: iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods.
That omission may be temporary. Apple's statement framed the move as a beginning — "we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices" — language that leaves the door open for iPhone 18 to arrive in September with a higher sticker. Analyst Tim Bajarin told the source publication that Apple "had no choice," and projects the memory squeeze will last at least two more years. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra made similar projections in a recent earnings call, warning of "tight conditions" persisting beyond calendar 2027. The concern is sharpest for entry-level devices: when a core component becomes structurally expensive, the budget end of the market suffers most, as Nothing's cancellation of an affordable handset already demonstrated.
Apple spent years selling the idea that its vertical integration was a buffer against supply shocks — today's price sheet suggests that buffer has limits.