All articles tagged with #price hike
Apple’s broad price increases across its lineup are already rolling out to retailers, with most models now priced higher or out of stock; however, Best Buy currently lists the 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/2TB) at the pre-hike price of $2,549, available for in-store pickup or delivery, making it one of the last remaining pre-hike deals before prices rise further.
Rising prices for new devices from Apple, Dell, and Microsoft—such as MacBook Pros, iPads, and Xboxes—are fueling a surge in demand for refurbished tech. Retailers report rapid sales and notable jumps in used-device purchases (Back Market: MacBook sales up 62% after price hikes; PayMore: computers up 30%). Surveys show roughly half of U.S. adults have considered buying used tech in the past year, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the trend, driven by AI-related costs, shrinkflation, and a shift toward value over the latest features. The movement also taps into nostalgia, as interest in older devices grows and people downgrade to get capable tech at lower prices.
A price watcher notes Apple has raised the top-end 16‑inch M5 Max MacBook Pro to $10,149 (up from $9,199), roughly a $950–$1,000 increase after an earlier hike; pricing may vary by region, with some buyers having saved earlier while others now face higher five-figure configurations (including 18‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 8TB SSD, and 128GB unified RAM).
Kotaku reports, citing The Wall Street Journal and leaked Microsoft documents, that Xbox Game Pass has dropped to about 30 million paying subscribers, down from 34 million in 2024 and far short of the internal target of 77 million; the decline followed a price increase to $30/month and the inclusion of Call of Duty titles in the library. Microsoft later cut prices and pulled new COD releases from day one to slow churn, but growth appears to have plateaued, signaling a ceiling for the service.
Industry analysts warn memory hardware costs will keep rising through 2026 and beyond, suggesting a July 2026 upgrade window for Xbox Series X|S before August price hikes and potential supply constraints; the piece argues upgrading now could save money and ensure access to upcoming titles like GTA VI.
Prices for major consoles have risen sharply in 2026 as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo raise hardware prices amid component shortages and broader economic pressures. PS5 models now hover around $600–$900 (Digital Edition $600, with Disc Drive $650, and Pro around $900), Nintendo’s Switch lineup shows modest increases (Switch Lite $230, Standard $340, OLED $400, Switch 2 at $450 with a $500 target by Sept. 1, 2026), and Xbox Series S/X have jumped (Series S from $300–$400 to $500 effective Aug. 1, 2026; Series X 1TB from $650 to $800 by Aug. 1, 2026). Sony is pursuing new monetization strategies for software/network revenue, while Xbox Game Pass prices are up, signaling a trend toward pricier hardware and ongoing monetization beyond the initial device.
Multiple Chinese leakers and reports suggest the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and Apple’s first foldable will launch with notable price increases, potentially pushing the foldable above $2,000 in the U.S. and lifting starter prices in China to around 9,999 yuan. Pro models could reach roughly $1,300–$1,400 in the U.S. with higher-storage variants near or exceeding $2,000, while BOM costs are rising and could push prices even higher. Apple has already raised prices on many devices, signaling a broader pricing shift.
Apple’s Certified Refurbished store now lists refurbished MacBook Neo units in four colors (Silver, Citrus, Indigo, Blush) with 256GB at $599 and 512GB with Touch ID at $679, eight SKUs in total, a day after new pricing raised Neo models to $699 and $799. Apple attributes the hikes to memory chip shortages and AI server demand. The Neo, powered by the A18 Pro with 8GB RAM and a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, remains the most affordable Mac.
Framework says preorder customers for the Laptop 13 Pro will get cheaper PCIe Gen 5 SSDs from ADATA, upgrading 500GB to 1TB at a lower price and adding 1TB/2TB options; however, CPU pricing is expected to rise, so overall prices for new orders may go up in the coming weeks. Shipments were pushed to July due to a glitchy touchpad and a custom display, underscoring ongoing component shortages.
Apple has raised iPad prices across its lineup, but Prime Day retailers are still offering deep discounts on several models (e.g., iPad Air M4 128GB Wi‑Fi around $519 and LTE $699), with other iPads also discounted. The savings are fading as Prime Day continues, so buyers should act now to lock in the best prices.
Apple announced price increases for its MacBook and iPad lines as memory and storage costs rise due to surging demand from AI data centers, detailing specific jumps (MacBook Neo $599→$699, MacBook Air 512GB $1099→$1299, MacBook Pro 1TB $1699→$1999, iPad Air 128GB $599→$749, iPad Pro Wi‑Fi 256GB $999→$1199) and signaling more hikes to come.
SanDisk has released an 8TB Optimus GX Pro 850P NVMe SSD for PS5/PS5 Pro, priced at $2,960 (reduced from $3,700), more than three times the PS5 Pro’s price. The PCIe 4.0 drive delivers about 7,300 MB/s read and 6,300 MB/s write and comes in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB variants, illustrating ongoing memory shortages and price hikes across gaming hardware.
NVIDIA’s RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is now listed at $13,250 on the official marketplace, more than 60% above its launch price of around $8,000 and about 30% higher than last month, driven by the card’s 96 GB GDDR7 memory amid ongoing memory shortages; the RTX 5090 also rises above $4,000 as AI demand sustains premium pricing for flagship GPUs.
Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball says Game Pass shed millions of subscribers after last fall's roughly 50% price increase, with Microsoft reportedly removing the latest Call of Duty from the service and lowering prices as part of a course correction.
Xbox Game Pass reportedly shed millions of subscribers after a 2025 price increase from $20 to $30, with Microsoft later lowering Ultimate to $23/month; the move coincided with tension over Call of Duty on Game Pass and a renewed push on console exclusives and future hardware, including a planned next-gen project codenamed Helix.