Among best-selling products, the MacBook Neo's starting price rose from VND16.5 million to VND19.5 million (US$627-$741), and that of the MacBook Air M5 from VND30 million to VND35 million.

The iPad Pro with the M5 chip is up from VND30 to 36 million, and the Mac Studio with the M4 Max chip has increased by nearly VND20 million for the 96 GB RAM model.

Major retail chains in Vietnam such as The Gioi Di Dong, CellphoneS, and FPT Shop have not yet adjusted their prices, but a spokesperson for one of them said the change "will happen soon, within this week."

The starting price of the MacBook Neo has increased from VND16.5 million to VND19.5 million. Photo by Tuan Hung.

The price hikes in Vietnam follow Apple’s global move on June 25 to raise prices of computers and tablets by 20% or more, citing soaring memory and storage chip costs.

It said in a statement it was no longer able to shield customers from the rising cost of memory and storage chips driven by the artificial intelligence industry's data center buildout.

It briefly closed its online store before reopening it with sharply higher prices.

In the U.S. and many other major markets, the Wall Street Journal estimated iPad prices rose by 15-25% and that of Mac computers by 15-20%.

The increases do not yet cover the iPhone, the company's flagship product and biggest profit earner.

The iPad Air M2 at its launch event in London, England, on May 7, 2024. Photo by Tuan Hung

"We have never seen component prices rise so much and so quickly," Apple's statement said.

In an interview last week, CEO Tim Cook had said price increases were "always going to happen sooner or later."

Apple is the last major computer maker to raise prices, with other giants such as Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo having been increasing them since late last year.

"The memory chip market is very brutal and will remain structurally brutal in the near future," predicted Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology advisory firm Creative Strategies.

The Apple statement said: "The consumer electronics industry is facing unprecedented challenges."

Meanwhile, memory chip manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank with the AI boom.

Micron Technology reported revenues of $41.46 billion in fiscal Q3 2026, four times up year-on-year. Its stock has risen by 700% in the past year.

South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix has seen its stock climb 400%, and Samsung's memory chip division has reached market capitalization of over $1 trillion for the first time