- Apple has announced price increases on their products
- Those increases may be “fairly imminent,” according to one reporter
- The price changes are due to ongoing component shortages
A few days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the disappointing news that “unfortunately, price increases are inevitable” for his company’s products, all thanks to the ongoing computer component crisis. And if you were hoping you could weather the storm a little longer, we’ve got some bad news: Apple device costs may be rising sooner rather than later.
At least that’s the expectation of Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who wrote on X to say he saw the price hikes as “pretty imminent.” In fact, instead of waiting until later this year, Gurman argued that the changes “happened soon,” before adding that they were “not a fall thing.”
Gurman also noted that Apple’s back-to-school sale — which usually takes place over the summer — is also “imminent,” and that Apple may have announced the price increases now to soften the blow of a summer sale that sees costs ticking up once it’s over.
That means events like Amazon Prime Day or Apple’s back-to-school sale could be your last chance for a while to grab one of the best iPhones, Macs, and iPads at a decent price. Because with parts like memory and storage still selling at inflated levels, it doesn’t look like much relief is on the way.
Even more premium
Apple has built a reputation for itself as a premium brand with devices that tend to be on the more expensive side of things. But even if you’re used to that positioning, price increases can hurt.
And as Apple expert John Gruber has pointed out: “For Apple, prices are part of a product’s brand, so they don’t fluctuate with component costs.” This means that once the higher costs come into play, we should “expect those prices to hold,” Gruber believes.
We’ve seen this before: the “trash” Mac Pro’s price remained at $3,000 even when its specs were well out of date. Similarly, Apple adjusted UK prices to be more in line with those in the US after the Brexit vote in 2016 and has not reversed course a decade later.
Gruber also points out that if Apple thinks component prices will continue to rise throughout 2027, it will simply implement a large price increase now rather than setting them up again later. So that means we could see, for example, a single $200 / £200 / AU$400 jump rather than two separate $100 / £100 / AU$200 increases.
If you’re considering picking up some new Apple tech, it all means that it might be wise to act sooner rather than later. But it’s worth noting that there can be a slight difference between Gurman and Gruber when it comes to timing.
While Gurman says the changes are “imminent” and will happen before the fall, Gruber believes Apple could wait until the new iPhone 18 Pro launches in September.
Still, whatever date Apple chooses to implement its price adjustments, you won’t want to wait if you’ve got your eye on some shiny new Apple kit. Before too long, we could see Apple become even more premium than it already is.
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