Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple price increases may arrive as early as next week, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicting “fairly imminent” hikes due to rising component costs.
- CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that price increases are “unavoidable” for Apple, marking a shift from the company’s previous ability to absorb higher costs.
- Amazon’s Prime Day could offer the last opportunity to purchase Apple products at current prices before increases potentially coincide with Apple’s back-to-school sale.
While most of the consumer tech industry has struggled to cope with rising component costs, Apple and its customers have remained largely unscathed, thanks to market leverage and preferential supplier contracts. But that state of affairs, as we’ve pointed out in the past, cannot last forever.
Earlier this week, Macworld reported on an interview with Tim Cook in which the outgoing Apple CEO compared the RAM crisis to “a hundred-year flood” and acknowledged that the situation is unsustainable. Price rises “are unavoidable” for Apple, he admitted, without clarifying how soon this would happen, or which product lines would be affected. Perhaps, optimistic customers hoped, it wouldn’t happen until the iPhone launches in the fall, or even later than that.
But one respected analyst thinks otherwise. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, discussing Cook’s comments on Twitter/X yesterday, said the price hikes are probably “fairly imminent” and that “this is happening soon.” That in itself isn’t much more detailed than what we got from Cook, but Gurman also specifies that the increases are “not a fall thing” and are likely to be tied in with the company’s back-to-school sale, which is slightly delayed from its usual start. (Last year, the promotion began in the U.S. on June 17.) It could happen as soon as next week, in other words.
How can Gurman be so confident in his prediction? His rationale is partly connected to the school sale, which he says could be used as a buffer to ease the shock for customers. But his main reason appears to be Cook’s willingness to speak at all. “No other reason to flag them now,” he muses.
It’s not good news, then. But on the plus side, Amazon’s Prime Day sale is also imminent, and this usually includes lots of tempting deals on Apple products. It could be the last chance to get Apple gear this low for a while, so be sure to stay on top of the latest price with our Prime Day topic zone.
