Yes, the news that Apple fans have been fearing is here — Apple isn't immune to the RAM crisis and has just raised prices across Macs, iPads and the HomePod mini.
Those price hikes are global and are now live in its online store. An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg "we know this is not welcome news, and we are working tirelessly to find solutions".
The headline news is that the MacBook Neo, praised for its excellent value, has seen its starting rise from $599 / £599 to a slightly less palatable $699 / £699. There have also been price hikes for the iPad Air, iPad Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and some Mac Studio models.
What should you do if you were looking to buy one of those Apple products? You've can follow all the latest reaction and deals here in this liveblog...
Welcome to our Apple support group
Hello, and welcome to this liveblog for our reaction to Apple's bombshell news today that it'll be raising prices across Macs, iPads and more.
I'd call it a 'shock' but if you've been following the news lately, it sadly isn't. The RAM crisis news continues to worsen, and Tim Cook recently dropped an unsubtle hint that "price increases are unavoidable".
So what should you do if, like me, you've been looking at upgrading your Apple kit recently? I'll be rounding up all of the latest advice and reaction from TechRadar's experts here — along with the best Prime day deals that could be your savior.
Why is Apple raising prices so much?
The RAM crisis is actually more of a PC component crisis — and unsurprisingly, Apple has said that it's this that's forced it to make unprecedented price hikes today.
An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg that “the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage”. They added that the company has “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”
It's very unusual for Apple make statements like this, which shows how bad the crisis has become. Apple also added it has “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.”
So what are the price hikes?
Here's a list of the most notable price hikes today for Apple products in the US and UK.
This isn't an exhaustive list — there are various spec configurations for Macs, for example, that will also be hit, particularly if you want to add more RAM.
But it's a handy overview if you want a quick look at the damage for your chosen product. No price hikes are welcome, but those MacBook and Mac mini ones are particularly painful considering the decent value they previously offered.
New price |
Old price |
Price difference |
|
MacBook Neo |
$699 |
$599 |
+$100 |
MacBook Air |
$1299 |
$1099 |
+$200 |
MacBook Pro |
$1999 |
$1699 |
+$300 |
Mac mini |
$799 |
$599 |
+$200 |
iMac |
$1499 |
$1299 |
+$200 |
Mac Studio |
$2499 |
$1999 |
+$500 |
iPad A16 |
$449 |
$349 |
+$100 |
iPad mini |
$599 |
$499 |
+$100 |
iPad Air |
$749 |
$599 |
+$250 |
iPad Pro |
$1199 |
$999 |
+$200 |
HomePod |
$349 |
$299 |
+$50 |
HomePod mini |
$129 |
$99 |
+$30 |
Apple TV |
$199 |
$129 |
$70 |
New price |
Old price |
Price difference |
|
MacBook Neo |
£699 |
£599 |
+£100 |
MacBook Air |
£1299 |
£1099 |
+£200 |
MacBook Pro |
£1999 |
£1699 |
+£300 |
Mac mini |
£799 |
£699 |
+£100 |
Mac Studio (M4 Max) |
£2499 |
£1999 |
+£500 |
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) |
£5,299 |
£3,999 |
+£1300 |
iPad Air |
£749 |
£599 |
+£250 |
iPad Pro |
£1199 |
£999 |
+£200 |
Deals to the rescue
If there is a small crumb of comfort from today's news, it's that there are some good deals around at Apple's old prices — which could net you some big savings.
I'll be running through some of the best of them now in this liveblog, for both the US and UK. And I have a personal stake in this too, having mulled over buying a MacBook Pro M5 just a few days ago (yes, it hurts).
So without further ago, let's get deals hunting...
iPad deals
The iPad deals below just got a whole lot better in light of today's Apple price hikes.
The iPad A16, for example, is now effectively $150 off, rather than just $50 in the US. Similarly, the iPad Pro's sale price of $899 is now a massive $300 less than Apple's new price, rather than the still-decent $100 saving you got previously.
For those in the UK, there aren't quite as many Prime Day deals right now, but there is a good one on the older iPad Air 11-inch (M3).
Today's best iPad deals in the US
Today's best Apple iPad deals in the UK
What does this mean for iPhone prices?
Fortunately, the iPhone is unaffected by today's price hikes — for now. But there's a good chance we'll see the iPhone 18 Pro get a price bump when it lands in September.
This week, we saw speculation based on JP Morgan research that the iPhone 18 Pro could get a price increase of $50-$100. It true, that would be pretty acceptable compared to the bigger price rises we've seen today.
The Apple Watch and AirPods have both also been spared price increases, though they could also be susceptible later this year (if to a lesser extent than Macs and iPads).
What MacBook deals are there?
If you're looking to buy a MacBook, the Prime Day deals just became a lot more important — maybe even essential, given the unprecedented Apple price hikes we've seen today.
For example, in the US you can buy the MacBook Neo (Apple's most affordable laptop) for $110 less than Apple's new pricing. Earlier today, that discount was only $10.
There are even bigger savings on pricier models like the MacBook Pro. The base 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 model is available for $1549 in the US, a massive $450 under Apple's new official price. How long these deals will last, though, is anyone's guess...
