Apple hikes MacBook and iPad prices, blaming rising chip costs

Apple is increasing the price of MacBooks and iPads worldwide due to rising memory and storage chip costs . The iPhone maker has hiked the prices of some laptops and tablets by almost 20%, saying the electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge due to an extraordinary surge in demand for chips to power AI data centres. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly, the company said - adding it was working tirelessly to find solutions. While Apple has not included iPhones in its price increases for some devices, tech analyst Paolo Pescatore said it showed the AI boom was now affecting consumer electronics. Apple's price hikes follow a slew of firms increasing device prices to help them absorb rising hardware costs.