Australians to pay at least 20% more for iPads and Macbooks after Apple hikes prices citing AI | Apple
Australians woke up on Friday to find Macbook and iPad prices soaring following Apple’s worldwide price hike, which they blamed on an AI-driven cost crunch for computer parts.
The iPhone lineup has not been affected, but experts predict that Apple will increase the prices of its flagship product later this year. Microsoft also increased Xbox prices overnight amid a wave of price increases for phones and devices.
Apple’s 13-inch-screen MacBook Air now starts at $2,099, down from $1,799 on the Australian website; MacBook Pro 14 inch starts at $3,199 on Apple’s website. However, both were on sale at other retailers at a cheaper price as of Friday afternoon.
Apple no longer sells MacBooks for under $1,000. The smaller MacBook Neo, which arrived in Australia in March for $899, now starts at $1,049 from Apple. Apple at the time had Neo was it his “most affordable laptop ever”.
The iPad starts at $749 to $599, the mini model starts at $949 to $799, the Air starts at $1,249 to $999, and the pro model starts at $1,699 to $1,999.
The iMac desktop now starts at $2,399, while the Mac Studio starts at $4,299.
Australian retailers have yet to reflect the price increase. Prices for office jobs were unchanged Friday morning.
JB Hi-Fi unveiled Apple deals at the top of its website on Friday; The MacBook Air 13-inch retailed for $1,597, the Macbook Pro 14-inch retailed for $2,797, and the iPad retailed for $495. The technology retailer has warned that demand for computer chips is rising as the world rapidly increases computing power and the use of artificial intelligence increases device costs.
The company’s CEO, Nick Wells, told analysts in February that the cost squeeze had led to a 20 percent price increase on PCs and that phones were vulnerable to the same price increases.
On Apple’s website, the iPhone 17 Pro still starts at $1,999, while the Pro Max starts at $2,199. In February, Wells said iPhones could be released starting in September, when iPhone 18 models are scheduled to be released.
Apple said it has covered rising computer part costs, but has now reached a point where it will have to raise prices. Its share price fell 6.15% US time on Thursday, wiping US$250 billion from its market capitalization to close at US$4.04 trillion.
“We have never seen component prices increase this quickly before,” Apple said in a statement.
Microsoft also announced on Thursday US time that it would increase Xbox console prices by US$100 (A$145) for 512GB models and US$150 (A$218) for 1TB models, and that it would stop selling the 2TB model.
In the statement, the company said that storage and memory prices have almost tripled and will double again towards the end of 2027.
“We were hopeful that another price increase would not be necessary and have spent the last several months working through options with suppliers,” Microsoft said.
Data centers use significant amounts of memory chips, and rapid advancements have led to a shortage dubbed “RAMageddon.”
International Data Corporation analyst Soo Kyoum Kim warned in a speech: note on monday The shortage was permanently rewriting the economics of consumer device production.
“The question is whether the product economics of affordable devices can be structurally rebuilt around higher memory costs or whether the product mix and [prices] it shifts upward permanently,” Kim said.
