Apple has implemented significant price increases across multiple MacBook and iPad models, citing unprecedented inflation in component costs. According to reports from Bloomberg, the company stated it had managed to absorb rising expenses for several months but the sustained increase in memory and storage chip prices has now made selective price hikes unavoidable. "The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly," Apple told CNBC in a statement, adding that it could no longer shield customers from the impact of soaring hardware costs. Following the price increases, Apple's shares tumbled as much as 4.7% in morning trade, reflecting investor concerns about the impact on consumer demand. As reported by Bloomberg, "We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions," the company added.
The base prices for several MacBook and iPad models have seen a hike between 20% and 42% in comparison to their original prices. The entry-level MacBook Neo now starts at ₹79,900, up from ₹69,900 at launch. The MacBook Air with 512GB storage has been increased to ₹149,900 from ₹119,900, while the MacBook Pro with 1TB storage now costs ₹2,39,900, compared with ₹1,69,900 earlier. As reported by Bloomberg, Apple has also raised the starting price of the iPad Air with 128GB storage to ₹89,900, an increase of ₹25,000 from its earlier price of ₹64,900. The 14-inch MacBook Pro, which once sold for ₹1,700, now retails for ₹2,000, while the iPad Air increased from ₹600 to ₹750. The Apple TV streaming device rose from ₹130 to ₹200. The M5-powered MacBook Pro lineup has seen a 20% increase, with the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 chip and 16GB RAM, launched at ₹1,69,900 in India, now listed at ₹2,39,900. The iPad Air has seen an even steeper rise, with the entry-level 13-inch iPad Air now costing ₹1,19,900, up from its launch price of ₹84,900.
Among the steepest revisions were seen in Apple's high-end MacBook Pro models. The 16-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 Max chip, paired with 48GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, has become more expensive with prices going up by ₹1,20,000, now carrying a price tag of ₹6,19,900. The variant with 36GB of RAM and the 2TB storage has gone up by ₹1,10,000, taking its retail price to ₹5,39,900. The 14-inch MacBook Pro models have also recorded sizeable price increases, with the M5 Max version with 24GB RAM and a 2TB SSD raised by ₹1,00,000, bringing its new selling price to ₹4,99,900. The M5 Pro variant with an 18-core CPU and 2TB SSD has likewise become significantly costlier, with its price climbing by ₹90,000 to ₹3,99,900. The Mac Studio powered by the M4 Max chip, with 36GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, has become ₹65,000 more expensive, taking its new retail price to ₹2,79,900.
The primary reason behind the price increase is the sharp rise in the cost of DRAM memory and storage chips. According to Bloomberg, "Memory prices have increased more than fourfold since Q4 2025, and this single component has eroded the profit margins of most consumer electronics players," as noted by Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint. The rapid development of AI data centers has resulted in a substantial increase in the cost of memory chips and RAM, with chips undergoing quarterly price increases of at least 50% since late 2025, according to AFP. During the company's earnings call in April, CEO Tim Cook alluded that for iPhones, the company was facing constraints on the main processing chip rather than memory. "There's less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases," Cook said, deeming the spike in prices a "hundred-year flood." As reported by TechCrunch, "We have reached a point where absorbing memory price hikes is impossible unless one wishes to run a business at a major loss." The economics illustrate the shift, with memory maker Micron reporting a gross margin of 84.9%, up from 39% a year earlier, reflecting the profitability of AI-focused products.
The global component shortage has significantly impacted India's electronics sector, with memory chip imports surging to $6.79 billion in FY26, representing a 53.41% increase from FY25. As reported by Business Standard, this dramatic rise reflects the broader challenge facing consumer electronics manufacturers worldwide. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure has led manufacturers to reallocate production toward chips used in AI data centres away from those designed for consumer electronics, creating a supply-demand imbalance that has forced companies like Apple to implement price increases across their product lines. The surge in memory chip imports highlights India's growing dependence on global semiconductor supply chains and the vulnerability of the domestic electronics sector to international price volatility.
