Apple Shares Drop 5% After MacBook, iPad Price Hikes Amid Memory Shortage

Apple shares fell nearly 5% on Thursday after the company increased prices for several MacBook and iPad models, marking its first official move to pass rising memory and storage costs on to consumers.

The stock decline followed Apple’s announcement that higher component costs, driven by a global shortage of memory, had made price adjustments unavoidable. The drop marked Apple’s sharpest decline since February.

The latest pricing changes include increases across several products, including the MacBook Neo, which rose from $599 to $699, while the MacBook Air 512GB model increased from $1,099 to $1,299. The MacBook Pro 1TB version climbed from $1,699 to $1,999.

Apple also raised prices for its tablet lineup, with the iPad Air 128GB increasing from $599 to $749, and the iPad Pro Wi-Fi 256GB model rising from $999 to $1,199.

The company’s online store briefly went offline Thursday morning before returning with the updated pricing.

In a statement, Apple said the consumer electronics industry is facing an “unprecedented challenge” as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers has triggered extraordinary demand for memory and storage components.

The company added that it had reached a point where it was necessary to increase prices on some products, warning that additional adjustments could follow.

“We understand this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions,” Apple said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told The Wall Street Journal that the company could no longer fully shield customers from the sharp increase in component costs linked to the artificial intelligence boom.

“This is a flood we have not seen in 100 years,” Cook said, describing the pressure as unlike anything he had experienced during his more than four decades in the industry.

According to Counterpoint Research, memory and storage prices have quadrupled over the past three quarters as suppliers redirect production toward high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers.

The supply crunch has created major opportunities for memory manufacturers, including Micron Technology, which has reported significantly higher revenue and stronger profit margins as demand for AI-related components accelerates.

Apple’s pricing strategy has historically relied on removing lower-cost options and pushing consumers toward higher-storage versions and premium models.

The company began signaling this approach earlier with the Mac Mini, when it discontinued its lower-priced configuration and removed the 256GB version priced at $599, leaving the entry model starting at $799.

Analysts expect the memory crisis to have a broader impact across Apple’s product lineup. Taron Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, estimates that rising component costs could add around $200 per iPhone for Apple.

He expects price increases of approximately $150 to $200 across models, with larger storage configurations likely to receive more emphasis as AI features require greater memory capacity.

Research firm International Data Corporation expects all upcoming iPhone models to feature 12GB of RAM as Apple seeks to support advanced on-device artificial intelligence capabilities.

More powerful AI features require additional memory, and Apple’s next-generation Siri experience is expected to work only on newer devices. IDC estimates that around 54% of iPhones shipped since 2022 may not fully support the upcoming Siri experience.

The shift could allow Apple to justify higher prices by highlighting improved device capabilities rather than simply passing on increased component costs.

IDC forecasts that Apple’s average selling price could rise by 12% this year, supported by a broader product lineup and the expected launch of a foldable iPhone.