Apple has considerably increased the prices of several of its MacBook and iPad models in India, with some of the premium devices becoming quite costly, as much as ₹70,000. The revised pricing, now reflected on the official India Apple website, comes with a global surge in memory and storage components, mainly driven by the rapid expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The steepest hike has been seen in the MacBook Pro lineup. The 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip and 16GB RAM, which was previously priced at ₹1,69,900, now costs ₹2,39,900, a straight jump of 70,000. The MacBook Air range has also become more expensive, with the 13-inch M5 model increasing from ₹1,19,900 to ₹1,49,900, while the 15-inch version now starts at ₹1,79,900, up by ₹35,000. The entry-level MacBook Neo has also received a ₹10,000 price increase.
The iPad lineup has not been spared either. The 11-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip now carries a starting price of ₹89,900, compared to its earlier launch price of ₹64,900. Similarly, the iPad Pro with the M5 chip and 256GB storage now starts at ₹1,39,900, marking a massive increase of nearly ₹40,000.
Apple recently indicated that these price revisions were unavoidable for the company, citing the unprecedented increases in the cost of memory and storage chips. The company said it has absorbed the rising component costs for as long as possible, but could no longer shield the customers from the impact. Industry analysts attribute the spike to soaring demand for DRAM and NAND memory from AI-focused data centres, which has strained global supply chains.
Notably, Apple has not announced any price increase for the iPhones in India so far. However, industry observers believe that if component costs continue to rise, more of Apple’s products could see price revisions in the upcoming months. For now, buyers planning to purchase a new MacBook or iPad will need to account for the significantly higher prices across Apple’s premium computing lineup.p
Sources: The Indian Express | India Today
