Apple has started charging more for some of its products due to the rising costs of AI chips. The price increases apply to select iPads, MacBooks, HomePod speakers, and Apple TV devices. The company says it can no longer fully shield customers from the soaring memory and storage chip costs tied to AI data center demand.
AI Chip Costs Surge
The pressure comes from what some in the tech industry are calling RAMageddon. AI data centers need huge amounts of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory to train and run advanced models. Those are the same basic chip categories that help power phones, laptops, tablets, game consoles, and other devices.
The current price increases apply to select iPads and MacBooks, along with HomePod speakers and Apple TV devices. The MacBook Neo’s starting price moved from $599 to $699, months after launch. The MacBook Air with 512GB of storage rose to $1,299 from $1,099.
Analysts warn that the iPhone may not be exempt from future price increases. The iPhone is still the big product to watch because it sells in huge numbers. If Apple raises iPhone prices next, consumers would feel that faster than a change to a smaller product line.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
