Apple just broke the worst kind of news: price increases on many of its major products (including the Neo), and yes, RAM prices are to blame.

Apple has increased prices in multiple categories
MacBook Neo got a considerable increase
The measure comes in response to the RAM crisis.

While everyone is busy taking advantage of Amazon Prime Day deals on all kinds of devices, Apple just released the opposite of deal news: price increases on most major product categories, including the new MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, Apple TV, HomePod mini, and more.

Look, it’s not like we didn’t see it coming. Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook may be the supply chain maverick, ensuring the tech giant had ample supplies of components to fulfill tech orders for months, but the RAM and component crisis has dragged on long enough that even Apple has been dragged down.

Cook warned us last month during an earnings call in which he cited “significantly higher memory costs” and then added that starting this month, RAM prices would “increasingly impact” Apple’s products.

this is going to hurt

Among the devices that saw a price increase was the exciting new MacBook Neo, a CPU-powered mobile laptop that was designed perfectly for the back-to-school market and, with a starting price of $599, was Apple’s cheapest laptop in memory. It now starts at $699, which also means the Neo with double the storage (512GB) and TouchID is now $799 to start.

Basically, there is bad news in multiple categories.

The 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 chip, a laptop I called “the best ultraportable I’ve ever used,” jumps from $1,099 to start to $1,299. The MacBook Pro costs $300 / AU$500 (from $1,699 to $1,999) to start.

Other products getting price increases include the Apple TV streaming box (now down to $199) and the HomePod Mini (up to $129 from $99).

Perhaps most disturbing for those returning to school, the base iPad Air system jumps from $599 to $699.

One of the most shocking price increases is for a product that, perhaps fortunately, many won’t care about: the Vision Pro. At $3,499 it was already tremendously expensive. Now the M5 edition starts at (wait for it) $3,699. That will not improve its chances of penetrating the consumer market.

Protected from these price increases is Apple’s entire line of iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods. So there’s that.

These are all the changes Apple has made for the US and UK markets:

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iPad price changes: US
Device	Previous price	New price	Increase
iPad	$349	$449	$100 (29%)
iPad air 11	$599	$749	$150 (25%)
iPad air 13	$749	$949	$200 (27%)
iPad Pro 11	$999	$1,199	$200 (20%)
iPad Pro 13	$1,299	$1,499	$200 (15%)
ipad mini	$499	$599	$100 (20%)

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iPad price changes: UK
Device	Previous price	New price	Increase
iPad	€329	£429	£100 (30%)
iPad air 11	£599	£749	£150 (25%)
iPad air 13	£799	£949	£150 (19%)
iPad Pro 11	£999	£1,199	£200 (20%)
iPad Pro 13	£1,299	£1,499	£200 (15%)
ipad mini	£499	£599	£100 (20%)

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Mac price changes: US
Device	Previous price	New price	Increase
macbook neo	$599	$699	$100 (17%)
MacBook Air 13	$1,099	$1,299	$200 (18%)
MacBook Air 15	$1,299	$1,499	$200 (15%)
macbook pro m5	$1,699	$1,999	$300 (18%)
MacBook Pro M5 Pro	$2,199	$2,499	$300 (14%)
MacBook Pro M5 Max	$3,599	$4,099	$500 (14%)
Mac mini*	$599	$799	$200 (33%)
iMac	$1,299	$1,499	$200 (15%)
Mac Studio (M4 Max)	$1,999	$2,499	$500 (25%)
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)	$3,999	$5,299	$1,300 (33%)

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Mac price changes — UK
Device	Previous price	New price	Increase
macbook neo	£599	£699	£100 (17%)
MacBook Air 13	£1,099	£1,299	£200 (18%)
MacBook Air 15	£1,299	£1,499	£200 (15%)
macbook pro m5	£1,699	£1,999	£300 (18%)
MacBook Pro M5 Pro	£2,199	£2,499	£300 (14%)
MacBook Pro M5 Max	£3,599	£4,099	£500 (14%)
Mac mini*	£699	£799	£100 (14%)
iMac	£1,299	£1,499	£200 (15%)
Mac Studio (M4 Max)	£1,999	£2,499	£500 (25%)
Mac Studio (M3 Ultra)	£3,999	£5,299	£1,300 (33%)

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Other price changes: US
Device	Previous price	New price	Increase
HomePod mini	$99	$129	$30 (30%)
HomePod	$299	$349	$50 (17%)
Apple TV 4K	$129	$199	$70 (54%)
Vision Pro	$3,499	$3,699	$200 (6%)

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Other price changes: United Kingdom
Device	Previous price	New price	Increase
HomePod mini	£99	£129	£30 (30%)
HomePod	£299	£349	£50 (17%)
Apple TV 4K	£149	£199	£50 (34%)
Vision Pro	£3,199	£3,499	£300 (9%)

It’s pretty clear that Apple didn’t want to do this. In fact, it’s hard to remember a time when Apple summarily raised so many prices at once, but it was forced to do so. Technology companies of almost every category are responding to this RAM shortage with higher prices.

We contacted Apple and then sent this comment: “The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge. The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a price increase for a component this large and so quickly. We have protected our customers from these increases until now, but now we have reached a point where we need to start increasing prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac. “We know this is not good news and we are working tirelessly to find solutions.”

If the RAM crisis subsides, will prices return to pre-RAM shortage levels or is Apple establishing a new normal? Only time will tell.

Go look for the offers

In the meantime, Prime Day is still active and there are plenty of chances to score some good deals on these devices before you’re stuck with nothing but the highest prices (where prices are going up). You’ll find the best deals we spotted on iPads, MacBooks, and more below and in this roundup.

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