"The memory price surge is a once-in-a-century flood."
Apple, which had signaled price increases amid soaring component costs, has raised MacBook prices by $100 to $300 and iPad prices by $100 to $200. iPhone prices were left unchanged.
According to pricing information posted on Apple's online store Tuesday, the MacBook Pro rose $300 from $1,699 to $1,999, while the MacBook Air was adjusted upward by $200 from $1,099 to $1,299.
The MacBook Neo, launched in March at a mid-to-low price of $599 targeting students, became $100 more expensive at $699 in just over three months. In the Korean market, the MacBook Neo rose 200,000 won, from 990,000 won to 1.19 million won.
The price of the Mac mini, the ultra-compact PC that gained popularity early this year as an efficient device for using AI agent tools such as OpenClo, was also raised further. Apple had discontinued the base Mac mini model (256GB storage), previously sold for $599, early last month, and positioned the 512GB model priced at $799 as the base model.
During the price increase, Apple reintroduced the discontinued 256GB model while raising its price to $799, and set the 512GB model at $999. The Mac mini's domestic price rose more steeply, apparently reflecting the exchange rate, with the 256GB model rising about 460,000 won from 890,000 won early this year to 1.349 million won currently.
In the iPad lineup, the low-priced iPad rose $100, the mid-priced iPad Air rose $150, and the top-tier iPad Pro rose $200. In addition, the prices of the HomePod speaker and the Vision Pro headset also increased. However, the prices of the iPhone, the Apple Watch smartwatch, and the AirPods wireless earphones remained unchanged.
Apple said in a statement that "the rapid expansion of AI data centers has caused a surge in demand for memory and storage devices, resulting in an unprecedented rise in component prices," adding that "we have reached a point where we have no choice but to raise prices on some products." It also suggested the possibility of further price increases in the future.
Earlier, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at the possibility of price increases in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 17th, describing the surge in component prices such as memory as "a once-in-a-century flood." According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, memory and storage prices have surged about fourfold over the past three quarters. This is due to memory makers expanding production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI servers, which relatively reduced the supply of conventional memory.
Following the price increase announcement, Apple's stock plunged more than 6% on the day, marking its largest decline since April last year.
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