Apple CEO Tim Cook says the boom in AI data centers has made price hikes "unavoidable".
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It's possible that AI will bring us all kinds of amazing things in the future.In the present, AI is making things more expensive.And Apple just showed us how much more expensive: It is raising prices on some of its Macs and iPads by at least 15% and directly attributing the hikes to the AI boom — specifically the buildout of data centers."The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," the company said in a statement. "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly."In real-world terms, that means Apple's entry-level MacBook Air now costs $1,299 — up from $1,099. Its cheapest iPad Air, which cost $599 on Wednesday, now costs $749.Apple had previewed the price hikes last week, when CEO Tim Cook called them "unavoidable." The company hasn't raised the prices of new iPhones, though we'll see what happens when it introduces new models this fall. Apple's statement says it "need[s] to begin raising prices on a number of products," which suggests these may not be the only increases.Apple's announcement is important for people who want to buy new computers and tablets. But I think it's much more meaningful than that: It's the first time a giant consumer company has come out and told consumers that prices are going up because of AI.
