Apple increased prices on multiple product lines Thursday amid rising memory chip costs tied to artificial intelligence demand. The hikes affect Macs, iPads, Vision Pro, HomePods and Apple TV models by 15 to 30 percent or more. iPhones and AirPods remain unchanged for now.
Outgoing CEO Tim Cook had warned in a Wall Street Journal interview last week that the memory shortage made increases "unavoidable." A company representative told CNET the firm had "never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly."
Analyst Neil Shah of Counterpoint Research said AI infrastructure growth has driven "insatiable demand" for chips, with the situation unlikely to ease for two years. Apple reported $112 billion in net income for 2025 and 17 percent revenue growth in the second quarter of 2026.
Senator Bernie Sanders called the moves corporate greed, citing $310 billion spent on stock buybacks. Apple's stock fell more than 6 percent after the announcement.
Analyst Anshel Sag noted the company held off on hikes as long as possible but exhausted options to absorb costs. Francisco Jeronimo of IDC said loyal customers are likely to accept the changes.
