As CEO Tim Cook warned a few days ago, Apple raised prices of Mac, iPad, HomePod and Apple TV 4K on Thursday. The changes take effect immediately, with most devices now costing $50 to $100 more. But other hikes are even higher.
That said, Apple left iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods prices unchanged. For now, anyway.
MacBooks and more get steep price hikes
Over the past several months, all major tech companies have increased the prices of their products. Apple was the only exception, sticking to the same MSRP for most of its products.
Cupertino’s traditional way of increasing prices is to launch new versions of products with a cost increase. For example, it raised prices for the M5-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models by $200 in March, but they also came with more storage to offset the hike. This time around, Apple is raising prices for already available Macs, iPads, HomePod and Apple TV.
The MacBook Neo, Apple’s most affordable notebook, now starts at $699, up from $599. Likewise, the Touch ID variant is $100 more expensive and costs $799. Apple is imposing steeper increases on the MacBook Air lineup, with prices rising from $1,099 to $1,299.
The jump is even more dramatic for the MacBook Pro. The base M5 MacBook Pro now costs $1,999, a hefty $400 increase over its previous price. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip starts at $2,499, while the 16-inch model costs $2,999.
If you opt for the M5 Max configuration with 36GB of RAM must now pay $4,399.
For comparison, Apple launched the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro chip at $2,200 and $2,700, respectively, in March this year.
Adding RAM and storage also gets more expensive
As if that’s not enough, RAM upgrades are more expensive, too. Going from 24GB to 48GB on the 16-inch MacBook Pro will now cost $600 more, with the jump to 64GB costing another $400 — a $200 increase. A fully maxed-out 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max chip and 128GB RAM will now set you back $9,999.
Mac Studio is also getting a similar treatment. Prices now start from $2,499 — $500 more than before.
“Have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg.
HomePod and iPad are now more expensive, too
It’s not just Macs being affected. iPad Pro prices now begin from $1,199 after a $200 increase. The iPad Air lineup is getting a $150 price hike, with a new price of $749. The base iPad is $100 more expensive now as well, starting from $450.
The 2nd-gen HomePod now starts from $349, $50 more than before. The HomePod mini gets a relatively modest $29 price increase, going from $99 to $129.
The Apple TV 4K is $50 more expensive than before. So, the base Wi-Fi model with 64GB storage costs $199 ($149 previously), while the 128GB model costs $249.
Even the Vision Pro has not been spared. The entry-level model now costs $3,699, up from $3,499. The 1TB model gets a bigger jump and now carries a $4,199 MSRP.
|
Product |
Old Price |
New Price |
Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
|
MacBook Neo |
$599 |
$699 |
+$100 |
|
MacBook Neo (Touch ID) |
$699 |
$799 |
+$100 |
|
MacBook Air |
$1,099 |
$1,299 |
+$200 |
|
MacBook Pro (M5) |
$1,599 |
$1,999 |
+$400 |
|
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5 Pro) |
$2,200 |
$2,499 |
+$299 |
|
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) |
$2,700 |
$2,999 |
+$299 |
|
Mac Studio |
$1,999 |
$2,499 |
+$500 |
|
HomePod (2nd gen) |
$299 |
$349 |
+$50 |
|
HomePod mini |
$99 |
$129 |
+$30 |
|
Apple TV 4K (64GB Wi-Fi) |
$149 |
$199 |
+$50 |
|
Apple TV 4K (128GB) |
$199 |
$249 |
+$50 |
|
iPad |
$349 |
$449 |
+$100 |
|
iPad Air |
$599 |
$749 |
+$150 |
|
iPad Pro |
$999 |
$1,199 |
+$200 |
|
Vision Pro (base) |
$3,499 |
$3,699 |
+$200 |
|
Vision Pro (1TB) |
$3,999 |
$4,199 |
+$200 |
The steepest increase hits the MacBook Pro lineup, with the base M5 model jumping by $400. Apple’s entry-level MacBook Neo remains the cheapest Mac, but even it now costs $100 more than before.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
You can reach out to him at mail[at]rajeshpandey.me.
12 responses to “Ouch: Apple’s Mac and iPad price hikes are brutal”
Bearing in mind that the products weren’t built yesterday, a price spike today on existing built stock looks less like a necessity than a (yet another) money grab.
Quelle surprise, Apple.
Memory prices didn’t go up yesterday — they’ve been rising since 2025. Apple has been absorbing the additional cost until now. That’s in contrast to rivals like HP who began hiking prices long ago:
https://www.pcmag.com/news/hp-we-have-to-raise-prices-because-memory-costs-shot-up-100-last-quarter
I just read an article that said Apple makes as much in 15 -30 seconds as most people’s annual salary. So, of course, that is not enough for them. So sad….Well, that is enough form me. No more Apple products until they grow a heart and perhaps a brain!
In the mean time, you can buy a Samsung. Oh wait, it raised its prices in April:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsung-increases-some-galaxy-prices-as-cost-pressures-mount/
Or there’s HP. No, it hiked prices too:
https://www.pcmag.com/news/hp-we-have-to-raise-prices-because-memory-costs-shot-up-100-last-quarter
Lenovo has already raised prices twice this year:
https://wccftech.com/lenovo-hits-buyers-with-second-price-hike-this-year-tacking-on-up-to-147-across-entire-pc-lineup/
At least these rising memory prices don’t affect game consoles, right? oops, spoke too soon.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/25/microsoft-lifts-price-of-xbox-consoles-due-to-soaring-component-costs.html
Let’s stage a Buyers Strike!! This is AI inflation, the AI hyperscalers are buying up the ICs (chips) driving up prices for all of us.
It seems that Tim Cook is raising the prices to let the next CEO John deal with the aftermath. Not a good move!
It’s the opposite. Tim Cook is raising prices now so customers can be angry at him. Apple’s next CEO, John Ternus, won’t have to take that flack when he starts in September.
The steepest increase was the Mac Studio at +$500. With no specs in the table above, it’s difficult to know for sure, but those increases seem a bit random and over the top.
Why have RAM upgrade prices gone up?? Apple Silicon chips include the RAM, it is not separate RAM chips!
Even with Apple designing its own processors, the company still depends heavily on outside partners for Apple silicon. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, better known as TSMC, manufactures the M-series and A-series processors, while Apple sources the unified memory packaged alongside those chips from major DRAM makers including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron Technology.
Although Apple’s unified memory architecture integrates RAM closely with the processor for higher performance and efficiency, neither it nor TSMC make the memory chips, leaving Apple exposed to fluctuations in global DRAM prices and supply constraints.
Apple silicon does have separate RAM chips. Look at an actual picture of an M-series processor, and you can see the RAM chips right next to it. They’re all soldered together, and the system treats it as if it’s part of the processor, but it is still a separate component.
Raising the refurb prices is just another cash grab by Apple, it’s ridiculous.. Apple has always stuck it to customers with their memory upgrades. I’ll limp along with the iMac 27 intel because I refuse to buy a tiny 24″. Timmy is leaving a mess for the next guy.