Apple ordered up a new $100B stock buy back in April 2026. This is well after it is apparent that there was unprecedented RAM/NAND component costs increases coming. Apple's stock run up over 2025 was merely about 10%. oh boo hoo that is 'horrible'. Huge need to buy stock to push the price here there; not. By late March down 2.5% up from start of 2025, but numbers for Mac Neo about the roll in and shocker stock is much higher. Apple though they had a deep need to buy on verge of grabbing more market share? Or simply just trying to goose the price higher by whatever means available? Maybe use some of the $100B to pay for R&D with money you have as oppose to suck more of out customers pockets?
[ If Apple is concerned about goosing price to retain more workers that have sizable portfolios then throwing some customers under the bus is probably on the table. ]
I suspect Apple priced the increases for the M4 models at what they expected to mostly cover the M5 era's pricing. However, if demand did not drop as much as they expected for 'aging stuff', I would not put it past them to tack on a bit more. If Apple is offering 'too good' of pricing then demand will outstrip supply even more when the folks waiting on an upgrade jump back in. The Apple 'norm' is to make price adjustments at new products update boundaries.
However, especially for the Ultras. In the M5 gen era, the Ultras seems likely to be more expensive/harder to make when the Max has been split in two. Now need to compose 4 'chlplets' into a single system instead of just 2. The chiplets themselves may have gotten incrementally cheaper but the packaging probably got more expensive. The current Ultra Studio isn't even a M4. So skipping from gen 3 to 5.
Current M4 Max to M5 Max transition has a better chance of being price stable after the recent bump increase.
At one point, Apple used to 'upgrade' folks whose order delivery date was somewhat delayed after a new product introduction. (e.g., delivery date of Dec 1, and Apple comes out with a direct replacement product Nov 1. They'd contact buyer and ask if really still wanted older model. ) Not sure what current policy is. But if hold a queue priority by doing a 'swap' then there is value in letting Apple do it.
Delivery days before... there is a return and swap. However, very likely getting back into the 'end of the line' again.
I wouldn't 'time' getting out of line on Gurman and these 'rumor pundits' that do not have deep connections in the retail channel. If there is a store leak that new ones are in warehouse and going into pricing system. If in the future (next week , next month , etc) that isn't good enough for a product where the delay factor of going to the end of the line is significant.
