Even Apple is no longer immune to price increases, as AI data centres continue to consume vast quantities of critical hardware components.
We have written extensively about this before: the soaring prices of essential computer hardware caused by the insatiable demand from AI providers. That demand has led to significant shortages of components such as RAM, SSDs and more. Modern technologies such as DDR5 memory have been particularly hard hit, but prices for older-generation hardware that is still widely available have also been climbing rapidly.
Some laptops are now being shipped with as little as 4 GB of RAM, which is simply inadequate for an operating system such as Windows. Upgrading to 8 GB can easily add several hundred euros to the purchase price—particularly when manufacturers have opted to install two 2 GB modules to minimise production costs. That is, if the memory is upgradeable at all, as it is increasingly being soldered directly onto the motherboard.
Apple Forced to Follow Suit
Apple, too, has been forced to increase prices across much of its product range.
The 64 GB version of the Apple TV 4K, originally introduced in 2022, rises from $130 to $199, while the 128 GB model increases from $179 to $249. The HomePod 2 climbs from $299 to $349, while the HomePod mini goes from $99 to $129. iPads, iPhones, iMacs and MacBooks are also seeing significant price increases in many cases.
If you have been considering buying new Apple hardware, now may be the time to act—even if that means choosing a current-generation model rather than waiting for a future release. Holding out until the market settles may prove to be a less attractive strategy. Likewise, waiting for the next generation of Apple products later this year could simply mean paying considerably more.
The rapid expansion of the AI industry and its ever-growing appetite for hardware may continue for the foreseeable future, and perhaps indefinitely. The era in which computers and components became cheaper year after year may well have come to an end.
Even if the AI boom were eventually to cool, manufacturers could continue charging today’s higher prices for years to come, benefiting from increased profit margins. By then, consumers may simply have become accustomed to the new pricing reality.