Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) globally raises prices! "Memory shortage" affects across the board: Mac increases by up to $300, iPad Pro increases by $200.

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) took extreme measures on Thursday, raising the prices of Macs, iPads, and home devices across the board to hedge against the unprecedented cost increase caused by the shortage of memory chips and storage components. According to information updated on Apple Inc.'s online retail store, the company raised prices on a variety of products including the MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. For example, the starting price for the latest notebook MacBook Neo increased from $599 to $699, and the MacBook Air went from $1,099 to $1,299. The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro rose from $1,699 to $1,999, and the 11-inch iPad Pro went from $999 to $1,199. The mid-range tablet iPad Air is now priced at $749, previously $599. This price adjustment is global. The standard HomePod speaker is now priced at $349, previously $299; the HomePod mini went up from $99 to $129. The Apple TV set-top box increased from $129 to $199. Apple Inc. did not raise prices on iPhones on Thursday. An Apple Inc. spokesperson stated, "The rapid expansion of AI data centers has led to an unprecedented increase in memory and storage demand," and said the company "has never seen component prices rise so much in such a short period of time." Apple Inc. added, "We have been absorbing these cost increases for customers, but now we have reached the critical point where we must start raising prices on some products. Today's price adjustments for iPad and Mac are a reflection of this strategy." The company said, "We know this is not a popular message in the market and we are actively seeking solutions." In April of this year, Apple Inc. executives told Wall Street analysts during the second quarter earnings call that the memory shortage would worsen throughout the year. Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook stated at the time that the shortage has impacted the supply side, with multiple Mac products facing continual supply constraints and shipping delays. "We have not reached the stage where we can say this will end in the short term," said Cook at the time, adding that supply constraints may continue for "months." In March of this year, the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from Apple Inc. had already undergone a price increase, but it was offset by an increase in memory capacity and other upgraded configurations. In May, the entry-level Mac mini, priced at $599, was discontinued. John Ternus, Apple Inc.'s hardware engineering chief who will take over as CEO on September 1st, will face the challenge of this memory crisis. The shortage issue has also impacted the release schedule of new products from Apple Inc., delaying the launch of important products such as the new Mac Studio. Cook stated in April that the impact of memory issues on the iPhone is lower than on Mac, with the main supply shortage related to core device processors. Apple Inc. will release new smartphones in September, including a major innovation of a foldable screen model, which may cost over $2,000.