Thinking About Buying an Apple Device? It Just Got More Expensive

If you've been thinking about buying a new Apple device, you may want to check the price before you hit the "Buy" button. Apple has increased prices on many of its products today, and some of the increases are surprisingly large.

Here are a few examples of the new pricing:

Apple has increased prices on both versions of the HomePod smart speaker and the Apple TV streaming box, although the company has not highlighted those increases as prominently. One notable exception is the iPhone, whose pricing has not changed at this time.

So why are prices going up?

According to Apple, the biggest reason is the rapidly increasing cost of the memory and storage chips that go inside its devices. The explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has created enormous demand for these components, making them much more expensive for companies like Apple to purchase. Apple says it has been absorbing those higher costs for months but has now reached the point where it can no longer do so.

If you've been planning to purchase a Mac or iPad, it may be worth checking retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, or your wireless carrier. Some stores may still have inventory purchased before today's increase and could continue selling it at the previous price for a limited time.