Apple’s Unexpected Price Rises

Apple has raised the price of several iPad and Mac models. Two examples are the MacBook Air 512 GB, which climbs $200 to $1,299, and the iPad Air 128 GB, going from $599 to $749. Similar price increases can be seen across Apple’s portfolio, including the HomePod and Apple TV.

The biggest impact will be on the MacBook Neo. The budget mode whcih started at $599 now costs $699. Laura Cress reports on the updated prices for BBC News:

"Apple's price hikes follow a slew of firms increasing device prices to help them absorb rising hardware costs.

"Much of the increased prices for memory and storage components - particularly RAM, a form of computer memory - have been attributed to a proliferation of data centres needed to power the AI boom. This, experts say, has caused an imbalance between supply and demand, which means everyone has to pay more."

The iPhone 18 Pro Price Rise

The question now is the impact this could have on the price of the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro is currently priced at $1,099 for the entry-level model. In a stable world, I’m sure that Apple would like to maintain that price point for 2026. Unfortunately, the crunch on memory and storage, in part due to the blockade of the Straits of Hormuz and, mostly, to the voracious demands of AI data centres, is having a disproportionate impact across the consumer electronics world.

There’s no confirmed price yet, but analysts are working out what the 18 Pro could cost. JP Morgan suggests a conservative addition of around $50-$100, with Apple making savings elsewhere. Nabila Popal, IDC's Senior Director, Data & Analytics, thinks it could be more.

"In our forecast, we had assumed a price hike of $100 to pro and ProMax models, and $50 hike to base models– however, seeing the price hikes today to iPad and MACs going as high as $300 for some models, my personal instinct says the hike to iPhones may be even higher than what we assumed – perhaps even $200 to the pro/Promax models. I think the days of $50 price increases are over.

The Competitive Impact Of The iPhone 18 Pro Release Date

All signs point to a launch on September 9th for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Ultra the foldable iP, with pre-orders and retail release following shortly after. It’s an important date for the Apple community, but it's just as important to the Android-powered competition; it’s a date when sales can plummet, consumer focus shifts away from the Pixels and Galaxies, and carrier offers gather around Apple’s darlings. I explored the wider impact of the release date earlier this week:

"The earlier the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro, the less time Apple's Android competitors have to establish themselves as "the best smartphone”. They are forced into weaker defensive launch dates, creating lifecycles that are counter to the iPhone's primary cycle. The iPhone 18 Pro’s launch will reset not just the iPhone market but also threaten each manufacturer as they face Apple’s prolific advertising."

New iOS 27 Features Need New Hardware, No Matter The Beta

In the run-up to the launch of the iPhone 18 family, Apple is working through the public beta versions of iOS 27. This is to test out the key features of the code, but not everything is on show. Forbes contributor David Phelan looks at some of the features that are being held back for September:

"AI Dictation is one of the elements of iOS 27 that is restricted to a small group of devices. If you have the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max or iPhone Air, then your device is capable. But even the iPhone 17 is not, because it only has 8GB of RAM on board, not the 12GB required for the feature."

iPhone Air 2’s Second Camera

The second iPhone Air model is expected to launch late in the first quarter of 2027 alongisde the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e. The next model of the fashionably thin phone design should come with an improved camera. A second lens was previously rumoured; this has been backed up by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, citing sources that we’ll be getting an ultrawide on the Air 2:

"Apple Inc. is preparing a second-generation iPhone Air for spring 2027, aiming to boost the appeal of the slimmed-down device, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Current prototypes of the new model, code-named V62, add a second rear camera for ultrawide-angle photography, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the product hasn’t been announced."

How Apple Wins AI

Damian Scott has taken an extensive look at Apple’s plans for artificial intelligence to discover Cupertino’s potential endgame by going back to Apple’s first promises in 2024, through the recent WWDC presentations, and beyond. Now Apple has announced that Google’s Gemini AI will help support Apple Intelligence, Scott picks out many similarities to the Search Engine race:

"As Safari grew, Apple and Google came to a revenue-sharing arrangement that would extend into 2007, when Apple unveiled the iPhone. By 2014, when it became apparent that Apple was dominating the smartphone game, Google began paying $1 billion… Google’s search business is one of the — if not the — best businesses in modern tech. Apple could have devoted resources to try to topple it or, at the very least, compete with it as it did with Safari and Maps. Instead, it opted to be the platform through which most people accessed the service."

And Finally...

Jason Snell’s ‘Designed in California’, a fifty-episode podcast looking at fifty years of Apple history, has raised $200,000 on Kickstarter and is heading into the multiple stretch goal territories with one week to go:

"Designed in California will consist of 50 episodes dropping over 12 months, looking at a wide range of Apple history, drawing from the best sources available. With your support, we can get started on the hard work to make this happen."

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