Some of the recent Apple price hikes exceeded 50%, while the cost of upgrading memory and storage has literally doubled in some cases.
The company has said that it’s “working tirelessly to find solutions” to the problem, but when might we expect prices to revert – if ever … ?
The one thing we know for sure is that the situation isn’t going to improve anytime soon. RAM prices are expected to continue increasing substantially through both this year and next. While some are hoping that pricing might ease in 2028, a recent analyst report said that the scope of the relief is likely to be limited.
A 40-45% Year-on-Year price hike is suggested, and the only recovery will be seen by 2028 when average selling prices are expected to decline as new capacity, around 15 to 20 percent, comes into play. This supply won’t be as meaningful as anticipated, as demand for AI and compute continues to increase.
In other words, that 15-20% increase in supply may be eaten up in continually growing demand for AI data centers.
One of Apple’s hopes was that it might get the nod from the Trump administration to buy memory chips from two Chinese companies currently on the naughty list, but as we observed earlier today, that seems unlikely to succeed.
9to5Mac readers were already skeptical about the idea that Apple would bring prices back down again as its component costs fall. In our poll, three-quarters of you believe that the price increases will either certainly or most likely be permanent. Fewer than 4% of readers are confident that the price hikes will be temporary.
Memory chip makers are planning to increase capacity, but this takes a significant amount of time. A report in the Financial Times described investment plans running over 15 years, while already-scheduled plant construction takes us into 2030.
Unless Apple can pull a rabbit out of the hat, it’s hard to see how the company could realistically plan to reduce prices anytime in the next few years without sacrificing margin. By that point, the increases will be the new normal and the company won’t be motivated to reduce them unless it has seen enough fall in demand to make the move worthwhile.
In short, I wouldn’t hold out much hope for price reductions in the foreseeable future, and certainly not ones matching the scale of the increases. If you’re planning on buying any Apple products in the next year or so, I would look to see whether you can bring them forward while lower prices are still available from third parties.
Photo: Bruce Kun
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