SAN FRANCISCO: Apple stated on June 25 it was elevating costs for its MacBook computer systems, iPad tablets and different merchandise, citing spiralling reminiscence and storage prices sparked by the rise of synthetic intelligence.
The worth hikes – the primary concrete change stemming from outgoing CEO Tim Cook’s repeated warnings about rising prices – despatched Apple shares plummeting greater than 4.7% in morning commerce.
On its US web site, worth will increase ranged from US$30 (RM123) to US$300 (RM1,230). The 14-inch MacBook Pro, which as soon as bought for US$1,700 (RM6,975), now retails for US$2,000 (RM8,206), whereas the iPad Air elevated from US$600 (RM2,461) to US$750 (RM3,077).
The Apple TV streaming machine rose from US$130 (RM533) to US$200 (RM820).
For now, the worth of the iPhone – the corporate’s essential income – remained unchanged.
“The rapid expansion of AI data centres has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage,” an Apple spokesperson stated in a press release despatched to a number of media retailers.
“We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”
Apple didn’t instantly reply to AFP requests for remark.
The Cupertino, California-based tech large – which notched an all-time income file of US$416bil (RM1.7 trillion) within the final fiscal 12 months – insisted it had “shielded our customers from these increases so far” however might now not accomplish that.
Last week, Cook set the stage when he advised The Wall Street Journal that worth will increase have been “unavoidable.”
“There’s less supply at a time when consumers want devices and the memory guys are passing along huge price increases,” Cook stated, deeming the spike in costs a “hundred-year flood.”
The fast buildout of AI knowledge centres has despatched the price of reminiscence chips and RAM skyrocketing – because the elements are present in practically all digital units – with the chips present process quarterly worth will increase of at the least 50% since late 2025.
It will fall to John Ternus to deal with the fallout at Apple – he’ll succeed Cook as CEO on Sept 1, simply days earlier than the brand new technology of iPhones is unveiled. – AFP