Tech Giants Microsoft and Apple Hike Prices Amid Memory Chip Crisis

Microsoft has joined Apple in raising prices on one of its most popular products due to the surging cost of memory chips. The software and computing company announced that starting August 1, the price of its XBox game consoles will increase $100 for the 512GB model and $150 for the 1TB model.

The move follows Apple's decision to raise prices on its iPad and MacBook products earlier this week. Apple cited an increase in AI data centers and higher demand for memory and storage as the reason for the price hike, which affects a range of devices including the iPad Air, iPad Pro, and budget MacBook Neo.

Microsoft said that the effects of the components crisis are particularly hard on consoles, which are typically sold at a loss rather than a profit. The company added that it expects another doubling in memory prices by fall 2027.