Looking to upgrade your Mac? You might want to do it soon Tim Cook just warned that 'price increases are unavoidable' for Apple products

Date:
Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:19:04 +0000

Description:
A good deal on a MacBook now could be the smartest move you make this year if you're in need of a laptop upgrade.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Apple's CEO has warned that "price increases are unavoidable" for its products That means more expensive Macs, iPhones and iPads for starters Price hikes will likely be substantial, and there are concerns that product lines could be adjusted as seen recently with the Mac mini is the entry-level MacBook Neo to suffer the same fate?
CEO Tim Cook has warned that Apple is going to substantially hike prices on its products due to the RAM crisis .

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (as spotted by Wccftech ), Cook said: "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable. We're doing our best
to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable." The spiralling costs of both memory and storage (SSDs) means that Apple needs to put up prices, and the hikes will be "substantial" the report suggests (as did Cook's previous comments whereby the CEO said
that from June, Apple will be facing "significant" cost increases for memory and this will "drive an increasing impact" on Apple's products). Latest
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So, this wasn't unexpected, but now it's crystal clear that these price increases are coming due to the "unsustainable" situation around memory chip supply (which is being eaten by AI and data centers to the detriment of consumer products).

What we don't know is the magnitude of these price increases, or what
products they might apply to, as Cook didn't furnish us with any specific
info along those lines. You may like Apple warns on RAM pricing and Samsung echoes those sentiments More Mac Studio and Mac mini options are disappearing from the Apple Store Apples Mac mini now has a higher starting price

It's a safe enough bet that Apple's core products are going to get pricier, though, meaning the iPhone, iPad and Macs. The WSJ even theorizes that the iPhone Pro 18 might cost from $1,299 in the US based on some rough maths. Analysis: time to buy a Mac? (Image credit: Future) How soon these price
hikes might happen is another key question, of course, but given Cook's previous comments about June, Mac rises could be imminent, as the WSJ indicates particularly given that we've already seen the Mac mini get
pricier at its baseline level. If you recall, Apple discontinued the most affordable entry-level model with 256GB of storage, effectively making the cheapest Mac mini a third more expensive. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The upshot is that if you're thinking of buying a Mac, now seems to be the time to pull the trigger, before these devices get pricier. Any deals that
pop up on MacBooks for Prime Day could well be worth pouncing on, and there's already been a discount applied to the MacBook Neo (in the UK).

Grabbing that deal might be a particularly smart move to make, actually, because if the Mac mini is anything to go by, the current base version of the MacBook Neo may not survive the coming quarter. As one of a few such comments on this Reddit thread puts it: "The $599 MacBook Neo was fun while it
lasted."

As to what all this means more broadly for Apple pricing moving forward, another interesting point that Cook brings up in the interview with the WSJ
is that he says Apple is willing to use its "balance sheet to help be a part of the solution." What to read next Need a new laptop? Buy it soon, as Asus warns of up to 30% price hikes A new rumor suggests Apple's MacBook Neo could feature 12GB RAM next year Tim Cook hails MacBook Neo launch as best ever for Macs despite shipping delays

By that, the CEO doesn't mean Apple is about to fund the building of its own chip production facilities, and Cook explicitly states that. What it
indicates is that the company is going to invest in this side of the tech industry, but exactly how is up for debate.

Some ( like Jukan on X ) theorize that what Cook is referring to is Apple prepaying to secure more memory supply and that'll require a serious amount of upfront cash to compete with the major AI players. Others believe this could mean that Apple might help fund expansion plans for memory chip makers as part of some kind of deal to lock in more favorable longer-term pricing
for iPhone, iPad and Mac memory supply.

Meanwhile, Jukan also highlighted a message from President Trump on Truth Social which states that "Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its chips in America", as has been previously rumored as a way of diversifying away from Apple's reliance on TSMC.

Tim Cook said before that Apple is exploring a "range of options" in terms of dealing with the RAM crisis, and it seems there's a lot going on behind the scenes right now. Hopefully we'll learn more about the details soon enough, but for now, I'm nervously watching what happens with the MacBook Neo and other Apple laptops. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a
preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best laptops 1. Best overall: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M5 2. Best budget: Apple MacBook Neo 3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch 4. Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 5. Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/macs/looking-to-upgrade-your-mac-you-might -want-to-do-it-soon-tim-cook-just-warned-that-price-increases-are-unavoidable- for-apple-products


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