Earlier today, Microsoft raised the price of its Xbox consoles by up to $150 in the U.S. Just a few hours before that, Apple announced a similar move for its Mac and iPad portfolio, while also raising the sticker price of its Vision Pro headset and several other products except the iPhone. But it seems these two giants are not done with price hikes yet.
Neither company has explicitly said that more price hikes are coming, but their statements suggest otherwise. Take, for example, this statement that Apple shared with The Washington Post earlier today.
“We have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today’s increases for iPad and Mac.”
Apple’s wording points to more price hikes
The important phrase here is “begin raising prices.” Apple’s wording clearly suggests that the company is also looking at similar price adjustments for the rest of its portfolio. A price hike for the iPhone would not be surprising.
Across the industry, smartphone makers have raised the purchase ceiling, and even non-foldable phones from Chinese brands are now regularly reaching the $1,500 to $1,600 range. A recent estimate by JPMorgan mentions that the price of memory and storage chips has essentially quadrupled, leaving Apple with little choice but to make a $100 to $200 price adjustment for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, which is slated for a fall debut.
Separately, Microsoft also mentioned in its announcement earlier today that the cost of memory and storage chips has gone up by a factor of 2.5, forcing it to raise the price of Xbox consoles multiple times in the past year. More importantly, the announcement notes that the company expects another doubling in the price of these components by the end of 2027. That directly means the price of Xbox Series X and Series S consoles could climb further in the coming months.
The memory crunch is hitting everyone
The cost pressure is not surprising. Valve, for example, has priced its Steam Machine console at over $1,000, and the bundle does not even include a controller. PC brands like ASUS have also publicly stated that they do not see any immediate relief when it comes to the cost of memory and storage chips. As a result, the price of laptops and PCs continues to climb.
The situation in the smartphone industry is no different. According to analyst estimates, it is only going to get worse, and the memory crisis does not seem to be going away in the face of voracious AI data center demand.