Forget the Apple tax, this is the AI tax
Apple’s decision to raise prices in response to memory cost increases is not unique to the company. If Apple has to do it, everyone else will as well. Apple announced stiff price increases Thursday — up to 25% in some cases — that extended across most products, including refurbished Macs and iPads (which saw prices increase up to $330). Apple might have left iPhones out of the mix for now, but they’ll likely see price increases when new models appear this fall. Omdia believes the memory price crisis spells the end of low-cost smartphones. The price hikes begin “We had assumed a price hike of $100 to Pro and ProMax iPhones, and $50 hike to base models,” wrote IDC Senior Director Nabila Popal. “However, seeing the price hikes to iPads and Macs going as high as $300 for some models, my personal instinct says the hike to iPhones may be even higher than what we assumed — perhaps even $200 to the Pro/Pro Max models. I think the days of $50 price increases are over.” What’s driving all this?