Apple Just Raised MacBook and iPad Prices by Up to $200, and One Lawmaker Says It Is Time to Break Up Big Tech
Apple raised prices on MacBooks and iPads this week, with some models climbing by $200 or more. The company pointed to a global squeeze on memory chips as the reason. The hikes did not stop at computers and tablets, and they did not stop at corporate statements either. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the moment exposes something bigger about how much power companies like Apple now hold.
MacBook Air and Pro Prices Both Climbed This Week
The increases hit specific models hard. A MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes of storage went up by $200, while a MacBook Pro with 1 terabyte of storage rose by $300. Apple also raised prices on both versions of its HomePod speaker and its Apple TV set-top box. The iPhone was left untouched for now, but tablets and laptops absorbed the brunt of the increase.
A Budget Laptop Got More Expensive Within Months of Launch
Apple’s lowest-priced laptop, the Neo, jumped from $599 to $699 just months after it hit shelves. Mac prices rose roughly 15 to 20 percent across the board, while iPad pricing climbed between 15 and 25 percent depending on the model. The pattern suggests Apple is treating this less like a temporary adjustment and more like a recalibration of where its prices now sit.
Apple Blames a Memory Chip Shortage Tied to AI Demand
In a statement, Apple said it had never seen a component price rise this fast, adding that it had shielded customers from the increases until reaching a point where it could no longer absorb the cost. According to the Guardian, memory makers, including Micron, have shifted production toward AI chipmakers, leaving less supply for phone and computer manufacturers. That shift has squeezed companies across the consumer electronics industry, not just Apple.
Outgoing CEO Tim Cook Signaled the Change Was Coming
Apple’s outgoing chief executive had already prepared the public for this moment. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tim Cook said price increases were unavoidable and that the company had tried to mitigate the cost increases being passed to it. He said Apple had worked to shield customers, but called the underlying situation unsustainable for the company to keep absorbing on its own.
Memory Prices Have Surged at a Pace Analysts Call Unprecedented
Dynamic random access memory prices climbed as much as 98 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and are projected to rise another 58 to 63 percent this quarter, according to industry tracker TrendForce. Some analysts have nicknamed the spike “Ram-ageddon.” Micron said this week it has already locked in $22 billion worth of long-term supply commitments from customers racing to secure their own memory stockpiles.
Industry Analysts Expect the iPhone to Be Next
Apple’s deep supplier relationships have cushioned it more than some rivals, with shares falling nearly 5 percent compared to an 8 percent drop for Dell. Still, IDC senior research director Nabila Popal said the iPhone will not be spared from a price hike. She noted Apple’s decision to raise other prices first was strategic, keeping the fall iPhone launch focused on new features rather than higher costs.
AOC Says Companies Like Apple Have Grown Too Powerful
Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on the price hikes directly, telling Fox News, “We need to break up a lot of these companies that are far, far too big, and we need to be instituting consumer protections for people.” She added that firms of this size increasingly behave like governments, seeking unchecked power with little accountability to the consumers who rely on their products.
She Says a 2022 Law Never Saw This Coming
The congresswoman pointed to the CHIPS Act, the 2022 law that included $39 billion in domestic semiconductor incentives and $11.2 billion to modernize the energy grid. She said the bill was written before data centers existed at this scale and was never designed to anticipate how much supply AI infrastructure would consume. She also argued that consumers are effectively subsidizing the buildout of AI data centers nationwide through rising costs.
Forecasters Expect Smartphone and PC Sales to Fall This Year
Research firm IDC projects smartphone sales could see their biggest annual decline on record, dropping nearly 14 percent, while PC sales are expected to fall 11.3 percent. Ocasio-Cortez has also backed legislation with Sen. Bernie Sanders calling for a moratorium on new AI data center construction. As memory prices climb and devices grow costlier, the standoff between consumer electronics and AI infrastructure shows no signs of easing.