Apple increased the prices of its Ipads and Macbooks on Thursday in America and on Friday in India.The rise in the prices are said to touch around 300$ and ₹1 Lakh respectively. The increased prices are said to be because of the surge in the costs of memory and storage chips. Company says it has now become impossible to shield customers from the price hike. However, it was reported that the Iphone, Apple’s most selling product will not face any changes in the pricing.
Price hike across the products
In the USA , Apple has increased the prices of select iPad and MacBook models by as much as $300.. The company's entry-level laptop, Neo, which launched at ₹69,900 will now retail for ₹79,900. The 512GB MacBook Air has become ₹18,000 more expensive, while customers purchasing the Homepod and Homepod Mini will now have to pay an additional ₹12000 and ₹5000 repectively. Apple has also revised the prices of both versions of its Apple TV streaming device.
Following the announcement, Apple's stock declined nearly 5%, while shares of rival PC maker Dell dropped more than 8%, reflecting investor concerns over rising hardware costs across the industry. Talking to the experts in the industry, it was reported that there was an increase of 15% in the Laptop AIR and significant increase of 14.3% in the new launched Macbook Neo. Whereas, the Home Pod saw the increase of 36%.
Reason of surge
The company stated a valid reason for the increase in prices. It was mentioned that the price of the products blew because of the equivalent rise in the memory and storage chips of the devices. The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has significantly increased demand for high-performance memory, leaving consumer electronics manufacturers with limited supply. Memory manufacturers, including Micron, have reportedly prioritised orders from AI chipmakers such as Nvidia, which are building advanced AI systems and large-scale data centres. While this strategy has generated record profits for chip suppliers, it has also tightened supplies for smartphone and laptop manufacturers, forcing them to raise product prices. Industry experts say Apple has managed to cushion the impact better than many competitors because of its long-standing relationships with suppliers. However, even those partnerships have not been enough to shield the company entirely from the ongoing component shortage.
'An unprecedented rise in component costs'
In a statement, Apple said it had never before witnessed such a rapid and substantial increase in component prices. The company noted that it had absorbed higher manufacturing costs for as long as possible to protect consumers from price increases. However, with the cost of key components continuing to rise, Apple said it had reached a point where increasing the prices of products such as iPads and Macs had become unavoidable.
iPhone prices may rise next
Market analysts believe Apple's flagship iPhone, its most selling product could be next to see a price increase.
Nabila Popal, Senior Research Director at market research firm IDC, said the iPhone is unlikely to remain unaffected by the ongoing cost escalation and expects Apple to revise iPhone pricing in the near future. Analysts also view the timing of Apple's announcement as strategic. By implementing price increases ahead of its annual fall iPhone launch, the company may be aiming to keep the focus on new product features during the launch event rather than on higher prices.
“Largest annual decline ever recorded”
According to IDC, higher prices could result in the largest annual decline ever recorded in the smartphone market, with shipments expected to fall by approximately 14%. The global PC market is also projected to contract by around 11.3%, as rising prices discourage consumer spending.
With demand for AI infrastructure continuing to surge, analysts believe pricing pressure across the consumer electronics industry is likely to persist, potentially affecting a broader range of devices in the coming months.