Apple and Microsoft have raised prices on some of their products as the cost of memory and storage chips continues to rise.
Apple has increased prices on selected MacBooks and iPads around the world, with some products rising by almost 20 per cent.
The tech giant cited the price hike to rising demand for chips used in AI data centres, which has pushed up costs across the electronics industry.
In a statement, Apple said: “We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products.”
The company added: “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft has also announced higher prices for Xbox consoles. From August, the entry-level Xbox Series S will cost $499, up $100, while the higher-spec Series X model will rise by $150 to $749.
Xbox said it had “hoped another price increase would not be necessary”, but rising memory and storage costs had left it with little choice.
The latest increases follow similar moves by other technology companies, including Sony, which raised PlayStation 5 prices earlier this year.
Industry analysts say the rapid growth of AI has increased demand for memory chips, creating supply shortages and pushing up prices for manufacturers, with the expectation that other PC, tablet and gaming brands are set to also increase prices in the coming months.
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