Apple’s Mac and iPad Price Hike Catches Up With Microsoft’s Xbox Move

Apple raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineup on Thursday, with many of its most popular models rising 20 percent or more. The base MacBook Air now sells for $1,299, up from $1,099, and the iPad Air moved from $599 to $749. Hours later, Microsoft’s Xbox division confirmed its own price hike.

Both companies point at the same cause: a memory and storage chip crunch that the AI data center buildout has made severe enough that, in Apple’s words, “we have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” Microsoft said console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and that it expects another doubling by the fall of 2027. The chain now extends to every category of consumer gadget, from entry-level laptops to flagship gaming consoles. Investors reacted quickly: Apple shares fell more than 6 percent on the day, their steepest drop since the April 2025 “liberation day” tariff shock.

Apple’s New Prices, Side by Side

Apple’s Thursday hike landed hardest on its laptops and tablets. The MacBook Air’s 512GB model moved from $1,099 to $1,299, and the lowest-spec MacBook Pro climbed from $1,699 to $1,999. The iPad Air rose from $599 to $749, and the iPad Pro moved from $999 to $1,199. Buyers had already been prepared for it: Apple’s earlier warning that price increases were unavoidable had telegraphed much of the Thursday move. The same message had already come from Apple CEO Tim Cook in an earlier WSJ interview in the same month.

The steepest single-product rise hit the Mac Studio M3 Ultra desktop, which jumped from $3,999 to $5,299. The entry-level MacBook Neo, Apple’s newest and lowest-priced laptop, moved from $599 to $699, narrowing one of its most-cited advantages. Even with the increases, Apple framed the move as unavoidable rather than aggressive.

Both Companies Pointed at the Same Cause

An Apple spokesperson tied the move to one specific force. The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage, the spokesperson said, and “we have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” The Cupertino, California-based company called the spike an unprecedented challenge for the consumer electronics industry. Apple added that it had shielded customers from the surge until now but had reached a point where it needed to begin raising prices on a number of products.

Microsoft matched the framing almost beat for beat. The company said console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and that it expects another doubling by the fall of 2027. The effects are particularly hard on consoles, Microsoft added, because consoles are typically not sold at a profit but instead for less than they cost to make.

Neither company blamed tariffs, shipping costs, or its own supply chain for the increase. Each placed the chip crunch squarely on the AI buildout pulling capacity away from consumer devices.

Why AI Data Centers Are Sucking Up the World’s Memory

The memory crunch has a clear upstream cause. Memory manufacturers such as Micron and SK Hynix have a limited capacity, and they are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence infrastructure, such as Nvidia’s graphics processing units. That prioritization pulls the same DRAM and NAND fabs away from the kind of consumer-grade storage Apple and Microsoft put in laptops, tablets, and consoles. A separate analysis of how AI data centers are driving up gadget prices traced the same chain through the industry’s biggest buyers. The result is a bidding war between two customer types that did not exist at this scale two years ago.

For Apple, the price effect landed in a single quarter. The Mac Studio M3 Ultra alone jumped from $3,999 to $5,299, the steepest single-product move in the cycle, and the iPad Pro moved from $999 to $1,199. Many of Apple’s most popular Mac and iPad configurations now sit at price points 20 percent or higher than before. Apple’s own statement called the rise rapid and unprecedented, the same language that has driven the price tags.

Microsoft’s own numbers sharpen the picture. The Xbox maker said console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x in a year. The company expects another doubling by the fall of 2027, a forecast that puts every device maker on the same trajectory.

That timeline gives buyers a rare look at how long the chip makers themselves expect the squeeze to last. It also gives Apple a benchmark for any iPhone increase it rolls out this fall.

• 2.5x: Microsoft says console storage and memory prices have risen by more than 2.5x in a year.
• By fall 2027: Microsoft expects another doubling of those prices.
• Apple: “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”

Microsoft’s Xbox Hike Hits a Market Already Sold at a Loss

Microsoft’s Xbox increase takes effect on August 1 and runs wider than Apple’s. The 512GB Xbox Series S rises by $100 to about $500, and the 1TB models climb by $150. The entry-level Xbox Series X now starts at about $750, and Microsoft’s own Xbox console price update confirms it is sunsetting the 2TB Series X it introduced in 2024.

Consoles break first under a chip shock of this size, and Microsoft named the structural reason in plain terms. A premium-margin phone or PC can spread the cost across the rest of the bill of materials.

Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make.

Microsoft’s Xbox division posted the statement on its Xbox Wire blog on June 25, 2026.

Where the iPhone Goes From Here

Apple did not raise iPhone prices on Thursday. Consumer tech analyst Trevor Long, based in Australia, said he expects the next iPhone cycle to carry the move. Long told Al Jazeera he expects a $50-150 price rise across the range, depending on the model. The memory and storage chips inside the iPhone lineup sit on the same constrained supply.

IDC analyst Nabila Popal went further. She said the Mac and iPad hikes were higher than she had expected, which suggests the iPhone increase may also be higher than expected. Popal floated as much as $200 for the iPhone Pro and Pro Max tiers, and added that the days of $50 price increases are over.

The market read Apple’s Thursday move as bad news first. Apple shares fell more than 6 percent, a drop Al Jazeera called the steepest single-day move since Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement in April 2025, with CNBC logging the same session at a 6.1 percent decline.

Microsoft shares fell 3.5 percent on Thursday, a smaller move than Apple’s but still in the same direction. Apple’s Thursday statement said it had reached a point where it needs to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac. Long told Al Jazeera the next key thing will be the iPhone.

The Wider Component Squeeze Across the Industry

Apple and Microsoft are not alone, and Microsoft made that explicit in its statement. The current situation is an industry-wide components crisis, the Xbox unit said, and the entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with it. The same forces are now showing up at every major device maker that depends on DRAM and NAND. AI data centers are consuming most of the world’s memory chip supply, and the bill is being passed to buyers across phones, laptops, and consoles in 2026. The two companies put numbers on the same problem from different angles, with Microsoft’s forecast of another doubling by fall 2027 the clearest timeline.

The mechanism is straightforward, if uncomfortable for buyers. Memory manufacturers such as Micron and SK Hynix have limited capacity, and they are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory for AI infrastructure such as Nvidia’s graphics processing units. Consumer-grade DRAM and NAND buyers are now competing for residual fab output, and they are paying higher prices to win it. A separate look at AI memory chip prices as a US inflation problem puts the same pipeline in macroeconomic terms.

Microsoft’s forecast gives the squeeze a defined horizon. The company expects memory prices to double again by the fall of 2027, on top of the more than 2.5x rise already booked. That puts Apple’s next iPhone launch, Microsoft’s holiday Xbox cycle, and every laptop refresh in between on the same upward curve.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Microsoft’s Xbox price increases take effect?

August 1, 2026. The 512GB Xbox Series S rises $100 to about $500, the 1TB models climb $150, and the entry Xbox Series X now starts at about $750. Microsoft also said it is sunsetting the 2TB Xbox Series X it introduced in 2024.

Why are Apple and Microsoft raising prices at the same time?

Both companies blame the same memory and storage chip crunch. Apple’s Thursday statement tied the move to AI data center demand for memory and storage. Microsoft gave its own numbers in the same news cycle, citing a more than 2.5x rise in console storage and memory prices and forecasting another doubling by the fall of 2027.

How much have memory and storage chip prices actually risen?

Microsoft pegged the year-over-year rise at more than 2.5x and forecast another doubling by fall 2027. Apple described the spike as an unprecedented challenge and named the AI data center buildout as the trigger.

Will the iPhone get more expensive too?

Apple did not change iPhone prices on Thursday. Trevor Long, an Australia-based consumer tech analyst, told Al Jazeera he expects a $50-150 iPhone price rise across the range. IDC analyst Nabila Popal said the move could reach as much as $200 for the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models.

Are other consumer-tech companies raising prices for the same reason?

Microsoft called the situation an industry-wide components crisis affecting every consumer-electronics maker. Chip makers like Micron and SK Hynix are steering capacity toward AI infrastructure such as Nvidia’s GPUs, which pulls supply away from the consumer-grade DRAM and NAND that go into phones, laptops, and consoles.