Apple raises prices of MacBooks, iPads

I had just drafted a report to leadership that we should buy what we needed for everyone through August ASAP.

My advice didn’t make it a week before the price increases.

Look, this is going to suck for several more years. The western memory cartel was never truly dismantled or punished after their price fixing in the early 2000s, and now this is the result. With Chinese DRAM and NAND makers on the entity list, western countries don’t really have an alternative but to suck it up and ride out whatever this market is, be it bubble or blessing.

That said, China isn’t stupid and is gladly steering their domestic firms to produce more kit not just for data centers and AI customers, but to shore up domestic electronics manufacturing in general. If China can make a device that appeals to Americans en masse, western companies are arguably at their most vulnerable in the face of sky-high part costs and supply chain issues. Combined with rising public sentiment against data centers and a general “fed-up” attitude towards tech in general, and this could be quite the explosively expensive powder keg depending on how things end up shaking out.

These are the price changes mentioned in the article:

Macs

  MacBook Neo: $699 (up from $599)
  13-inch MacBook Air: $1,299 (up from $1,099)
  15-inch MacBook Air: $1,499 (up from $1,299)
  M5 MacBook Pro: $1,999 (up from $1,699)
  M5 Pro MacBook Pro: $2,499 (up from $2,199)
  M5 Max MacBook Pro: $4,099 (up from $3,599)
  iMac: $1,499 (up from $1,299)
  M4 Max Mac Studio: $2,499 (up from $1,999)
  M3 Ultra Mac Studio: $5,299 (up from $3,999)

iPads

  iPad: $449 (up from $349)
  11-inch iPad Air: $749 (up from $599)
  13-inch iPad Air: $949 (up from $749)
  11-inch iPad Pro: $1,199 (up from $999)
  13-inch iPad Pro: $1,499 (up from $1,299)
  iPad mini: $599 (up from $499)

More products:

  Apple TV 4K: $199 (up from $129)
  HomePod: $349 (up from $299)
  HomePod mini: $129 (up from $99)
  Vision Pro: $3,699 (up from $3,499)

Some unc perspective: I paid ~$6,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars for a computer in 1996. Today, I can get the same power in a $6 single board computer. A powerful modern mini PC starts at ~$600.

However painful these price hikes are, and they are painful, it is worth remembering that computing has become incredibly ubiquitous and cheap.

Just yesterday I saw people saying that Apple wouldn't increase prices until the next refresh.

And I agreed! So… holy shit. I think we're going to see even further price increases across the industry. There already were a ton, but it can always get worse, of course.

Thank you, OpenAI. What would have we done without your attempts at monopolizing destroying the memory market.

Anyone else here enjoy living in the future? Look at us, we get AI megacorporations ruling the world and bestowing us with the power to use their servers for just $20-200/month. It's practically charity, and all we had to give up for it is all consumer hardware, the quality of the internet and our own jobs. I love it here!

This feels like the car market during COVID.

In December Best Buy had a $1999 configuration of the M5 MacBook Pro on sale for $1749 and I scooped one up. Now that model is $2199. I suspect I could sell the computer I've been using for 6 months at a profit, which is just bizarre. But then of course it would cost a lot if I wanted to replace it.

If you're in the US, Costco has certain models at the old price through Saturday (or while supplies last). Just pulled the trigger on a 24GB/1TB 13" MbA for $250 off the new price.

Oh the bright side they do offer $AAPL with a 5% discount today.