Apple’s hardware price increases in June were costly and unwanted. They were also just the beginning of a wave of higher prices on Apple products and services. Over the last few weeks Apple has been raising prices across the board for different reasons.
Apple price hikes are getting harder to avoid
It started with Apple radical hardware increases on June 25.
The MacBook Neo jumped $100 to $699, the 13-inch MacBook Air jumped $200 to $1,299, and the base iPad jumped $100 to $449.
MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad mini, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Studio, Apple TV 4K, HomePod, HomePod mini, and Apple Vision Pro are among the other affected products.
The company attributed unprecedented increases in Memory and storage component costs.. Apple CEO Tim Cook blamed AI data centers for consuming more high-bandwidth memory, reducing supplies and driving up prices.
The increase in prices has even extended to renovations. Apple newly listed Refurbished 256GB MacBook Neo is $599the same price as a new model before the increase.
Meanwhile, Current iPhone prices in Japan rose between 8% and 11%, or between ¥8,000 and ¥20,000, depending on the model. Apple did not give a reason, but the recent weakness of the yen is a likely explanation.
US iPhone prices haven’t increased yet, but we expect Apple’s fall iPhone lineup to debut with higher costs.
It’s not just Apple hardware
Apple hardware isn’t the only thing getting more expensive for customers.
The cost of AppleCare+ recently increased also. New plans for each current Mac and iPad increased by 50 cents per month or $5 per year.
Existing subscribers kept their previous prices and AppleCare One remained at $19.99 per month. make the package a relatively better deal.
Then on Friday, Apple raised prices for Apple Music and most Apple One bundles.
Apple Music now costs $11.99 per month for individuals, while family plans are $19.99. Apple explicitly cited rising licensing costs. It’s not exactly music to our ears, in the context of everything else becoming more expensive.
Apple One Family and Premier increased by $2 each, while Individual remained unchanged. Apple did not detail the math for the bundle, but the affected tiers include the family version of Apple Music, which saw the biggest increase.
In total, this is a set of price increases linked to component shortages, licensing costs and, probably, currency pressure.
For customers who buy hardware, add protection or pay for services, more of Apple’s ecosystem now costs more.
The only question is what Apple will do next?
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