Apple Just Increased Prices on MacBooks, iPads, and More

[CWallace]

Well. Apple said iPhone increases are coming. I won’t be surprised if the do it this week.

My guess is they will raise the prices with the iPhone 18 Pro in September - possibly by raising the base RAM configurations to "cover" it (so they raise the price of the iPhone 18 Pro by $200, but they also raise the base memory from 256GB to 512GB, which is a $200 BTO for the iPhone 17 Pro).

They have said they could sell more iPhone 17 if they had the A-series SoCs (they underestimated demand for the line and they cannot get more SoCs from TSMC), so they probably don't want to risk losing any more sales with a significant price hike so close to launching the new line.

 

[Mainsail]

I don't know enough about the true pricing pressure caused by the AI bubble to evaluate if these hikes are warranted, but it is a shame. As an example, I always felt the base MBA at $999 was a sweet spot for business professionals and college students. MBAs were ubiquitous on college campus.

Apple hiked the price when the NEO was introduced. And now, it got bumped again to $1,299. That's 33% increase in less than 6 months. I understand they adjusted the storage, but still, it's a crazy increase for Apple's most popular laptop. I wonder how it will impact market share and total sales. Time will tell.

 

[horsefeathers]

That’s not how the pricing mechanism works.

Of course it is. It’s always been a balancing act with Apple. Their brand image is based somewhat on exclusivity and being too premium for some others to afford.

If everyone has a Mac Neo and can afford a Mac Neo, it loses all lustre and appeal.

 

[Pjrufus]

Of course it is. It’s always been a balancing act with Apple. Their brand image is based somewhat on exclusivity and being too premium for some others to afford.

If everyone has a Mac Neo and can afford a Mac Neo, it loses all lustre and appeal.

The brand image used to be "It just works." Yes, it has become more complicated, but for non-tech folks, exclusivity is not a consideration at all.

 

[progx]

Most burstable bubble I’ve seen in my life. All this data center capacity is going to end up aboard the local devices anyway as models rapidly mature and optimize, and those idle data centers will be the abandoned, decaying factories of tomorrow. Computers used to take up an entire room. Now they fit on our wrist. This ends the same way.

I hope so. I’ve said the same thing for the past 2-3 years and… it’s still here. This could be a big bang pop ❗️

 

[Bazza1]

On Apple Canada's own site, they are listing a refurbished 15" M4 MacBook Air at $CDN1429, and a 13" M5 at $CDN1519 - the lowest price for either device offered. That's approximately the same price a new MacBook was not all that long ago - and when there was such a thing.

But wait, there's more - on the full price retail store the base available Neo is $CDN949, the Mini is $CDN1099 and a new MacBook Air is $1799.

Feel free to believe none of the devices above were built after the price spike announcement, touting the current memory supply issues.

Apple enjoys an over 40% profit margin on their products - unlike a few companies well under 10%. They generated a lot of interest (from new and existing customers) with the release of the Neo, but now seem determined to make themselves look bad. Covering their shareholders' 40% asses rather than concern over market share. Assuming folks buy into the spike....

 

[CWallace]

The brand image used to be "It just works." Yes, it has become more complicated, but for non-tech folks, exclusivity is not a consideration at all.

Not "exclusivity", but "aspirational".

With the general public, Apple products are generally seen as "luxury goods" to aspire to own (like a Coach bag). And "democratizing" luxury by making it more accessible to so-called “aspirational consumers” has been the ticket to maximize growth in the luxury market since the global recession of 2008-2009 per an article last year in Forbes.

So by Apple releasing the MacBook neo at a price significantly below the MacBook Air, they "democratized" the MacBook and so many millions of "aspirational consumers" stepped up to buy it that Apple blew threw their entire initial stock within months.

 

[Pjrufus]

Not "exclusivity", but "aspirational".

With the general public, Apple products are generally seen as "luxury goods" to aspire to own (like a Coach bag). And "democratizing" luxury by making it more accessible to so-called “aspirational consumers” has been the ticket to maximize growth in the luxury market since the global recession of 2008-2009 per an article last year in Forbes.

So by Apple releasing the MacBook neo at a price significantly below the MacBook Air, they "democratized" the MacBook and so many millions of "aspirational consumers" stepped up to buy it that Apple blew threw their entire initial stock within months.

I see your point, except I don't think it's a new thing for Apple. The first iMac (1998?) did the same. But who's to say if it was aspirational, or just an accessible product that was easy to use for the average person.

 

[MontgomeryG]

However, all Macs make up just 8.1% of Apple revenue. Wearables and accessories are at 8.6%, services at 26% and iPhone over 50%.

Hang on - sources and bla bla aside, headphones and watches are now outpacing Mac sales in revenue (even laptops)? I'm not saying you're wrong - but woah.

 

[CWallace]

Hang on - sources and bla bla aside, headphones and watches are now outpacing Mac sales in revenue (even laptops)? I'm not saying you're wrong - but woah.

Not quite, but very close. Macs brought in USD 8.4 billion in Q2 with Wearables/Home/Accessories bringing in USD 7.9 billion. Mac revenues were up 6% YoY with WHA up 5%.

 

[SnowCrocodile]

Hang on - sources and bla bla aside, headphones and watches are now outpacing Mac sales in revenue (even laptops)? I'm not saying you're wrong - but woah.

Apple Revenue Breakdown By Segment | Bullfincher

In the financial year 2025,Apple's revenue breakdown by segment shows that the iPhone was the biggest segment, representing 50.36%, and the iPad was the smallest segment, representing 6.73% of its revenue.

bullfincher.io

 

[dizmonk]

Good article here and I basically agree with all his points. I think this new pricing structure is here for the next few years.

These higher Mac prices? It's the new normal

Don't expect Mac prices to come down to the previous levels anytime soon, if at all.

www.macworld.com

 

[horsefeathers]

The brand image used to be "It just works." Yes, it has become more complicated, but for non-tech folks, exclusivity is not a consideration at all.

If brand image weren’t a consideration then iPhones wouldn’t have a stronghold on the market in teenagers and young adults…

I forget the exact statistic but the marketshare among youth is astounding. It’s like a clique thing. Things are less special once you equalize them to mass sales to as many people as possible and sacrifice your margins.

 

[Harddrive]

I think its more than brand image every review it seems on you tube compares the computers and phones to the Apple line up for a reason ease of use and quality build not to mention bench scores if that matters.

 

[Edsel]

I guess Apple Inc. forgot to increase the price of their Apple Mouse. It's still a "bargain" at $79.00.

 

[Admiral]

For several months I've been watching the Refurb Store in my country for high-spec M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pros with large RAM and SSDs. There haven't been any. Today 50 machines showed up — ALL of them exactly the sort of machines I've been watching for (64-128GB RAM, 4TB SSDs) , but now with the outrageous high prices. Apple has been hoarding returns in anticipation of hosing its customers. I'm quite peeved.

 

[CWallace]

I guess Apple Inc. forgot to increase the price of their Apple Mouse. It's still a "bargain" at $79.00.

That's good to hear, as the battery in my old iMac Pro mouse is on it's last legs.

 

[SaxPlayer]

My wife and I both had very old iPads.

Hers a 2019 standard model, mine a 2017 iPad Pro.

They've done well, all things considered, even though my Pro has had a cracked screen for more than half its life.

Before this story broke (and before the prices went up), I'd bought my wife a new M4 iPad Air for her birthday. I've just checked Apple's new UK prices and the same model has gone up £150. Yikes! So I've just bought myself one from John Lewis who still have the M4 Air's at the previous pricing (until they sell out).

 

[Bazza1]

That's good to hear, as the battery in my old iMac Pro mouse is on it's last legs.

Or get a perfectly fine Logitech bluetooth one, running on a standard AA battery (anticipated life span before swapping out +1 year) for around $30. They even come in white. 🙄

 

[Abazigal]

Right now, memory manufacturers are raising prices because demand from new data centers is overwhelming supply. They are also investing heavily in new plants and additional capacity to keep up with that demand.

I suspect the problem is in part that none of the ram manufacturers want to increase supply. They know this increased demand for ram will not last forever, and the worst thing anyone can do right is is precisely to invest in building a new plant. By the time that facility is up and running, the AI bubble will likely have burst, demand for ram will be back to normal, and they will just be stuck with an oversupply of ram sticks that they cannot sell.

Better to just ride it out while raising prices in the meantime.

 

[Mainsail]

Well, there is profit maximization and there is margin maximization. Two different things. Apple might attempt to maximize margins and find itself with less total profits.

 

[skaertus]

I suspect the problem is in part that none of the ram manufacturers want to increase supply. They know this increased demand for ram will not last forever, and the worst thing anyone can do right is is precisely to invest in building a new plant. By the time that facility is up and running, the AI bubble will likely have burst, demand for ram will be back to normal, and they will just be stuck with an oversupply of ram sticks that they cannot sell.

Better to just ride it out while raising prices in the meantime.

I agree. But, from what I have read, some of the RAM manufacturers are already investing in new plants to increase supply. However, it takes time for these plants to be built and ready for production.

 

[CWallace]

Beyond the reported doubling of RAM and NAND storage costs to Apple, there has likely been a large spike in the cost of the SoCs used in the devices. Apple no longer has "most-favored customer" status with TSMC (that is now NVIDIA) so they would be paying higher prices for those.

Consider the A18 Pros that go into MacBook Neo. I could easily see Apple's price for these SoCs being at least twice as expensive as the binned SoCs that went into the first tranche, hence them needing to raise the price $100 to cover those higher costs. Also note the Apple TV price rose $70-100 and rumors say it also may be using the A18 Pro SoC. So perhaps Apple is pricing in the higher costs for those, as well, into the current model so when the new one launches, it launches at the same $199 / $249 price.

Thinking more about iPhone 19 Pro prices this September, I expect Apple is not getting the discounts on the N2 process like they enjoyed when they launched earlier processes (N3, N4, etc.). NVIDIA is likely not asking for a discount (because their margins are so high they make Apple's look ruinously low) so Apple is going to be paying "market rate" for the A20.

 

[Velli]

I am not doubting your analysis.

But there is a threshold with high-end equipment too: that is manufacturing and service costs versus total income.
As we have seen with the Mac Pro, Apple had to throw in the towel.

There was a very minor vocal group who actually needed 1.5 TB of RAM and who wanted the internal HD storage.
Yet their numbers were too small for Apple to really make a profit - all costs considered.
So they killed the Mac Pro.

The Studio is not rally a replacement for these people and a kludge at best.
But the Mac Pro is still gone.

The Gold Edition Apple Watch did not fare much better...
Once these reach $10,000 to $15,000 they don't sell anymore. Very apparently.

And I can see the very same thing happening with the high-end MacBook Ultra models.
There may not be enough rich people interested to buy it...
And the same for the highest configs of the MacBook Pro.
All these may go the way of the Mac Pro sooner than people think.

That is what I think.

I don’t think this price increase changes much in that dynamic. Mac Pro and gold Apple Watch died because no one wanted them. Not because they were overpriced by 30%. Look at it this way: If those two products were 30% less, would they have been successful? Very unlikely.

MacBook Pro is a product that many people want, and/or need (no one needs an Apple Watch - completely different dynamic). They will still want them at 30% more, they will just skirmish more about the price so of course sales goes down. But suggesting that it kills the product is hyperbole.

 

[Velli]

When Apple used to routinely create breakthrough products, the high prices seem justified. Now no longer.

At which point in time did Apple “routinely” create breakthrough products?