Apple's Price Surge: What You Need to Know About the New MacBook and iPad Costs

Apple has recently raised the prices of its MacBook and iPad models by 20% to 42%, primarily due to soaring memory chip costs. The 14-inch MacBook Pro now starts at Rs 2,99,900, while the iPad Air's base model has jumped to Rs 1,19,900. This price adjustment reflects significant shifts in the semiconductor market driven by AI data center demands. Experts suggest that while this may deter some consumers, it could also push buyers towards premium models. Read on to learn more about the implications of these changes for Apple and its customers.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jun 26, 2026, 17:16 IST

Significant Price Increases for Apple Products

New Delhi: Apple has announced a substantial increase in the prices of its MacBook and iPad models, with hikes ranging from 20% to 42% compared to their initial launch prices worldwide, including in India. This adjustment is primarily attributed to the rising costs of memory chips.

According to the updated pricing on Apple's India website, the MacBook Pro featuring the M5 series chip has seen a price increase of approximately 20%. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip now retails for Rs 2,99,900, up from its original price of Rs 2,49,900.

The iPad Air has experienced an even more significant price jump, with the base model of the 13-inch iPad Air increasing by 41.22% to Rs 1,19,900 from Rs 84,900.

Neil Shah, Co-founder and VP of Research at Counterpoint Research, noted that Apple’s price adjustments for the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Pro Wi-Fi reflect a major shift in the cost structure of the consumer and enterprise PC and tablet markets, driven by escalating semiconductor chip prices.

In a statement, Apple acknowledged the unprecedented challenges facing the consumer electronics sector. They highlighted that the rapid growth of AI data centers has led to an extraordinary demand for memory and storage components, resulting in significant price increases.

"We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac. We know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions," the statement read.

The trend of rising prices for consumer electronics is widespread, with many products seeing increases of 40% or more.

Memory manufacturers are increasingly directing their production towards AI data centers, which has constrained availability and driven up costs in the consumer electronics sector.

Micron, a leading memory chip supplier, reported gross margins of 86%, a significant rise from 15% just a year ago.

"Apple, known for its robust supply chain management, has begun passing on higher component costs to consumers, indicating that pricing pressures have reached a level that even the most sophisticated strategies cannot fully mitigate," stated Prabhu Ram, VP of Industry Research Group at CyberMedia Research.

Shah mentioned that Apple had managed to hold off on price increases for at least two quarters, protecting its customers from inflation, but has now reached a point where it can no longer absorb the rising costs.

"The unprecedented growth of AI infrastructure has altered the semiconductor supply chain, creating an insatiable demand for DRAM, NAND, and Compute chips, which is not being met by production capacity as AI infrastructure takes precedence. We believe this situation will persist for at least the next two years," he added.

Shah also pointed out that the timing of these price hikes is not ideal, as Apple is set to launch its revamped on-device Apple Intelligence later this year, which will require significant memory and computing power.

"This could potentially impact overall demand for Apple products in the upcoming months. However, it may also benefit Apple, particularly for customers looking to upgrade who may prefer to invest in a higher-end model rather than settle for a lower configuration. This shift could lead to a stronger focus on premium products as consumers seek maximum value for their investment," Shah concluded.