Apple raises MacBook Air & Pro prices due to global memory chip shortage

Apple has increased prices of the updated MacBook Air and Pro, its two main laptop lines, by S$100 to S$450, as the industry faces rising costs from memory chips.

The MacBook Air will contain the M5 processor, while the MacBook Pro will have the first M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

These are the products affected by the price change:

The regular M5 MacBook Pro from October's release was also subject to the price increase and now costs S$2,299, up from S$2,199; the rest of Apple's computer prices remain unchanged.

MacBook Improvements

The new models debuted on Mar. 3, and while the laptops look identical to their predecessors, their interiors contain different chips and upgraded storage for the MacBook Air line.

The base storage amount for MacBook Air laptops will be doubled to 512GB, a first.

All MacBook Pro models will also have increased storage with a minimum storage of 1TB, while the M5 Max models include a standard of 2TB of space.

The laptops will have faster processors, improved storage configurations and better graphics.

These devices can also support Wi-Fi 7 standard, Bluetooth 6 and Apple's N1 wireless chip.

Surging memory chip prices have partly contributed to the increase in prices as artificial intelligence data centres are being prioritised over consumer applications like Apple products, reported The Straits Times.

Top photo from Apple's website.