The RAM crisis comes for Apple: Mac and iPad prices jacked up by hundreds as company says 'We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly'

A close-up photo of a pair of Micron and SK Hynix DDR5 DIMMs, showing the memory modules on black/green PCBs on the left. On the right, Apple CEO Tim Cook wipes a tear during his final Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on June 8, 2026.

Apple has bitten the bullet. The house that Steve Jobs built took its store offline a little earlier. When it came back, punters were confronted with a bleak new reality: Macs and iPads are now hundreds of dollars dearer. Here's a tasting platter of new starting prices:

• The MacBook Air now starts at $1,299, up from $1,099,
• The MacBook Pro now starts at an eye-watering $1,999, up from $1,699.
• The MacBook Neo will now set you back a minimum of $699, up from its original price of $599.
• The iPad Air now starts at $749, up from $599
• The iPad Pro now starts at $1,199, up from $999
• If you were gonna splurge, get ready to splurge all the more: the M4 Max Mac Studio is up to $2,499 from $1,999