Apple and Xbox raise their prices: the AI fever is making computers and consoles more expensive

Apple has raised the prices of its MacBook computers and iPad tablets around the world, in some cases by up to 20%. The company assures that it had never seen such a rapid increase in the cost of components. The reason? The memory chips that these devices carry have skyrocketed in price because big tech companies are buying them in bulk to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. In other words, the AI boom is causing fewer chips to be available for the rest of the products, and therefore making them more expensive. Hours after Apple’s announcement, Xbox announced that it will also raise the price of its consoles starting in August: $100 more for the basic one (it will cost $499) and $150 more for the version with more memory ($749). It is the second increase in less than a year, and the company warns that the cost of components could double again by 2027. This means that buying a console will cost between 30% and 40% more than just a year ago. What does this mean for the average user? That buying any electronic device — whether a computer, a tablet or a console — will be more expensive over the coming months. The underlying problem is that artificial intelligence needs enormous amounts of chips to work, and that is unbalancing the global component market. Until chip production catches up, prices will remain higher for everyone. — Marta, for intermittent intelligence.