The trick: Self-Marked

Apple blamed "the rapid expansion of AI data centers" for the price hikes on your next Mac or iPad.

Apple's own decision to cram more RAM into its devices for its own AI features is a second AI-driven cost its statement never mentions.

Issue 237 September 20268 receipts4 min

Apple's written statement says "the rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," after CEO Tim Cook called the resulting price increases "unavoidable" and the situation "unsustainable."

Before you read on. Your call?

the shortage and the price increases are both real and confirmed with hard numbers, a MacBook Air rose $200 and a MacBook Pro rose $300 in June 2026. What the statement omits: reporting on the same shortage notes Apple "needs to increase the DRAM in its devices to support new AI features," its own product choice, not only the external data-center demand its statement names as the sole cause.

The twist

Apple hadn't set iPhone 18 pricing as of this story's writing, with its launch event one day away and an analyst projecting a jump of up to $200 on the Pro models, larger than Apple's typical increases.

$200MacBook Air 512GB price increase

$300MacBook Pro 1TB price increase

up to $200IDC analyst Nabila Popal's projection for the iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max price increase expected at Apple's Sept 9

There’s more to this story.

Membership opens the full investigation, the strongest counterargument and what to do with what you’ve learned.

Start your free month →

First membership: 30 days free, then A$89 a year. One introductory trial per customer. Card required; renews annually until cancelled. Cancel before the trial ends to avoid the first charge. Already a member? Sign in

The trick has a name

We call it Self-Marked: graded by the party that benefits from the grade. You'll see it again. Learn to spot it →

Say this in tomorrow's meeting“Apple says AI data centers made your MacBook pricier. Apple's own decision to add more RAM for its own AI features is a second AI-driven cost its statement doesn't mention.”

Receipts

Supports macrumors.com: "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," said Cook. "We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."
Context macrumors.com: At the same time, Apple needs to increase the DRAM in its devices to support new AI features.
Supports pbs.org: "The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly," the company said in a written statement.
Supports pbs.org: The new, entry-level MacBook Neo will now cost $699, up from $599. The 512 gigabyte MacBook Air now costs $1,299, up from $1,099. The one terabyte MacBook Pro is $1,999, up from $1,699.
Context pbs.org: Nabila Popal said the latest price hikes were higher than she had expected, which suggests the iPhone price hikes may also be higher than expected, perhaps as much as $200 for the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models. "I think the days of $50 price increases are over," she said.
Context news.northeastern.edu: outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the company was “expecting the impacts of supply chain constraints to increase significantly” in the weeks and months to come
Supports macrumors.com: Apple is raising its prices to offset the high cost of memory and storage, CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal.
Supports macrumors.com: Cook likened the memory shortages to a hundred-year flood. "I've never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years," he said.

Open the Receipts Pack → What each source proves, every figure traced, and what would change our verdict.