Apple's component cost surge pushes iPad, Mac prices up; iPhone 18 Pro leak

Apple has said that a rapid rise in memory component costs, spurred by AI data‑center demand, forced the company to raise prices for its iPads and Mac computers. Prices for 32 GB DDR5 RAM have jumped almost four‑fold, and Apple’s use of premium, on‑chip memory further inflates costs. The company is lobbying the U.S. government for permission to procure memory from Chinese suppliers currently on a blacklist in hopes of easing the price pressure.

Separately, a leak from Apple’s Indian partner Tata Electronics revealed prototype images of the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. The device appears thicker with a larger camera module, a smaller dynamic‑island cutout, and a new A20 Pro chip. The leaked footage also showed a red colour variant and a redesigned motherboard that moves memory away from the processor to improve thermal performance. The memory‑price crisis is expected to affect the iPhone 18 Pro’s retail price as well.