Apple raises prices on several Mac and iPad models

Apple has raised the prices of several Mac computer and iPad tablet models due to higher memory and storage chip costs, US media reported on Thursday. In a statement cited by several media reports, Apple said it had never experienced such a rapid increase in component costs in such a short period. The company stated it had been absorbing the higher costs to protect customers, but has now reached a point where it needs to raise prices on some products, including Macs and iPads. Price updates on Apple’s US website show that the starting price of the MacBook Neo has risen from 599 US dollars to 699 US dollars. The 13-inch MacBook Air with 512GB of storage now starts at 1,299 US dollars, up from 1,099 US dollars. For iPad products, the starting price of the 11-inch iPad Air Wi-Fi model with 128GB of storage has increased from 599 US dollars to 749 US dollars. The 11-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi model with 256GB of storage now starts at 1,199 US dollars, up from 999 US dollars. The latest price adjustments do not affect the iPhone. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centres in recent years has driven demand for high-bandwidth memory and other chips, causing supply shortages of memory and storage components used in consumer electronic devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in April that the company expected memory costs to increase significantly in the third fiscal quarter ending 27 June, adding that the higher memory costs would have a greater impact on its business after the June quarter.