The cost of owning an Apple device has increased significantly for Australians, with prices for MacBooks and iPads rising by at least 20% due to rising component costs. The price hike is attributed to the increasing demand for computer chips, driven by the rapid growth of computing power and AI usage. As a result, Apple's MacBook Air with a 13-inch display now starts at $2,099, up from $1,799, while the MacBook Pro 14-inch starts at $3,199. The iPad prices have also increased, with the base model now starting at $749, up from $599. Microsoft has also announced a price increase for its Xbox consoles, citing rising storage and memory prices. The company has lifted prices by US$100 for 512GB models and US$150 for 1TB models. The price hikes have significant implications for the tech industry, with experts warning that the shortage of memory chips, dubbed 'RAMageddon', is permanently rewriting the economics of consumer device production. Data centers, which use significant quantities of memory chips, are driving up demand and contributing to the shortage. The question now is whether device manufacturers can rebuild their product economics around structurally higher memory costs or if prices will shift permanently upward. As the industry navigates this new reality, companies like Apple and Microsoft are being forced to pass on increased costs to consumers, changing the pricing landscape for devices like MacBooks, iPads, and Xbox consoles.

Source: The Guardian