Will price hikes force Apple to stop dragging its feet on certain product upgrades?
Opinion: Apple's steep summer price hikes tied to the global memory crisis raise the bar for product upgrades on stagnant lines like iPad Air, iMac, and base iPad.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
9to5Mac opinion piece arguing that with significant price hikes tied to an ongoing global memory crisis, Apple must justify costs by upgrading products that have stagnated for years, or risk losing customers to a competitive used market.
Apple made a lot of its gadgets more expensive because memory parts got really pricey around the world. The writer wonders whether Apple will finally make its older products better to match the new prices, like giving the iPad Air a smoother screen. Otherwise, people might just buy used ones that cost less.
Analysis
The $749 iPad Air
The headline casualty of Apple's summer price adjustment is the iPad Air, which jumped from $599 to $749, a roughly 25% increase that pushes a mid-range tablet into premium territory. The article observes that until a few months earlier, shoppers could pick up an M4 iPad Air for $499 to $599 on the used market, leaving Apple competing against its own discounted legacy hardware. With the same basic design dating back to 2020 and only incremental chip and accessory gains since, the new price point demands more than a routine spec bump. The piece names 120Hz ProMotion as one of the relatively cheap upgrades that could reshape the value proposition without proportionally inflating bill of materials.
The M5 MacBook Pro's $1999 jump and Apple TV's $199 ceiling
Apple's M5 MacBook Pro saw its entry price climb from $1699 to $1999, another $300 increase on an already premium machine. The Apple TV simultaneously moved from $129 to $199, pushing a set-top box into territory where shoppers increasingly compare it against full streaming-capable sticks and built-in smart-TV platforms. The author's framing is that Apple cannot expect to sell 'yesterday's tech at much higher prices' without meaningful feature upgrades, especially with the used market offering recent silicon at discounts that undercut the new entry points. The argument scales upward with each price bracket: the more expensive the product, the louder the demand for substantive change.
A potential return of 128GB iPhones
The opinion piece floats a darker alternative: that rather than upgrading products, Apple could quietly downgrade specifications to absorb component cost pressure. Specifically, the article raises the prospect of a return to 128GB iPhone base storage after years of higher minimums. This scenario illustrates how the global memory crisis, the same force driving the visible price hikes, could also manifest as silent feature cuts consumers only notice once they fill their devices. Combined with the stagnation the author catalogues across iMac (essentially unchanged since 2021) and base iPad (largely the same since 2022), the piece sketches a two-front risk: raising prices on some products while quietly trimming features on others to keep margins intact.
Key points
- Apple raised prices across multiple product lines earlier in summer 2026, citing an ongoing global memory crisis (iPad Air to $749, M5 MacBook Pro to $1999, Apple TV to $199)
- Several Apple products have remained largely unchanged in design and features for years, including iPad Air since 2020, base iPad since 2022, and iMac since 2021
- Recent models are available on the used and refurbished market at prices below Apple's new entry points, sharpening the value comparison
- The author suggests relatively inexpensive upgrades, such as 120Hz on iPad Air, miniLED on iMac, and laminated displays on base iPad, as ways to restore appeal
- The piece also raises the possibility that Apple could downgrade specs, such as returning to a 128GB base iPhone, to absorb memory-driven cost pressure
If Apple responds to the price hikes with the upgrades the piece floats — 120Hz on iPad Air, miniLED on iMac, and laminated displays on the base iPad — buyers will see genuine improvements that justify the new prices, and the lineup can hold its ground against refurbished alternatives.
If Apple holds prices high without meaningful upgrades, consumers will defect to the used market where M4 iPad Air units still sell for $499 to $599. Alternatively, the company could quietly trim specifications, such as returning to a 128GB base iPhone, absorbing costs in ways that erode perceived value over time.
