Apple raises iPad and MacBook prices as AI pushes up costs
Yahoo Finance ·
Apple raises iPad and MacBook prices as AI pushes up costs James Titcomb Thu, 25 June 2026 at 10:09 am GMT-4 2 min read AAPL Apple has raised laptop and iPad prices by up to 25pc after a surge in chip costs caused by the AI boom. The company increased the prices of its MacBook Pro, Air and Neo and iPad Pro and Air gadgets on Thursday, warning that further rises were coming. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said last week that price rises were inevitable because of the soaring costs of memory chips, which are in hot demand because of the construction of AI data centres. The company increased the price of the iPad Air from £599 to £749, a 25pc uplift. The price of its MacBook Pro models rose by £300 and Apple indicated that further price rises were on the way: "We have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices. "The rapid expansion of AI data centres has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," Apple added. "We know this is not welcome news and we are working tirelessly to find solutions." AI data centres require substantial volumes of memory chips, the sort of short-term storage found in computers and phones. Production of high-performance memory is largely controlled by three companies – South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung and US company Micron – which have all surpassed valuations of $1tn (£760bn) amid a boom in AI stocks. Micron said on Wednesday night that its profits had more than doubled in the second quarter of the year. Mr Cook, who will step down in September, said last week: "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable. "We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases but the situation has become unsustainable." On Thursday, the price of a 14in MacBook Pro rose from £1,699 to £1,999. The 16in model climbed from £2,699 to £2,999 while the MacBook Air now costs £1,299, up from £1,099. The newly released MacBook Neo now costs £699, up from £599, while the iPad Pro now costs at least £1,199, compared with £999 before the increase. New iPhones are widely expected to increase in price when Apple unveils the new models in September. Apple shares fell by around 1pc in pre-market trading in New York.
AI 시장 분석
Apple announced price increases of up to 25% for iPad and MacBook. Tim Cook explained that expansion of AI data centers has driven memory and storage costs sharply higher, making the price increases unavoidable, and warned that further increases are possible. Memory production is concentrated among a few firms such as SK Hynix·Samsung·Micron, so these companies are likely to benefit. Conversely, there are concerns about short-term demand softening for Apple products and pressure on consumer spending, and cloud/data center capital expenditure burdens are also expected to rise.
상승 영향
- Memory (Semiconductors) — AI data center demand is pushing up DRAM and NAND prices, which should expand SK Hynix·Samsung·Micron's revenues and profits.
- AI infrastructure / Servers & GPUs — Large memory and storage demand will increase orders and capex for GPU, server, and storage equipment vendors, benefiting those suppliers.
- Semiconductor equipment — Memory capacity expansion will accelerate capital investment by foundries and equipment firms, likely boosting demand for ASML·Applied-type equipment.
하락 영향
- Apple hardware (smartphones, tablets, la — Price increases for iPad and MacBook could cause demand slowdown and delayed replacement cycles, weighing on Apple's product sales and growth.
- Consumer electronics & retail — Higher prices will squeeze consumer disposable income and negatively affect retail sales of tablets, laptop accessories, and related items.
- Cloud / Data center operators — Rising memory and storage prices will raise short-term CAPEX and operating costs for cloud providers, which could pressure margins.
AI가 생성한 분석으로 투자 자문이 아닙니다.
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