The latest report from a research institute shows that due to the simultaneous surge in memory and processor costs, the retail price of mainstream notebook computers may face upward pressure of nearly 40% in 2026. In this price increase cycle, Apple is expected to maintain its relative price advantage in the short term by relying on its self-developed chips and supply chain bargaining power.
According to reports, Apple’s Mac product line will soon cover a wider price range, from the just-released MacBook Neo, which starts at $599, to the high-end MacBook “Ultra” expected to be unveiled later this year. The price gradient is obviously widening. But at the same time, third-party research firm TrendForce warned that the broader notebook market is heading for a "painful price reset."
TrendForce's calculations took a notebook with an official price tag of US$900 as a sample and found that DRAM memory and SSD storage, which originally accounted for only about 15% of the material cost, have risen to more than 30% after prices have risen sharply in the past few quarters. If the complete machine manufacturer hopes to maintain profit margins, the price increase of these two components alone will be enough to push up the terminal retail price by more than 30%.
The report also pointed out that Intel has raised the prices of entry-level and previous generations of notebook CPUs by more than 15%, and plans to continue raising prices for mainstream and high-end platforms in the second quarter. Once the increases in memory and processor are superimposed, the two may together account for 58% of the total component cost, significantly higher than the previous level of about 45%, which will further squeeze the profit margins of PC brands.
In comparison, Apple has a certain buffer in the processor. The chips used in its Mac products are all self-developed Apple Silicon, avoiding direct dependence on the price fluctuations of Intel CPUs. For example, the A18 Pro chip equipped with MacBook Neo is manufactured by TSMC and is based on a direct supply agreement between Apple and TSMC, which to a certain extent hedges the risk of price increases in the external CPU market. However, Apple cannot avoid the pressure brought by the rising memory market: whether it is the entry-level Neo equipped with a fixed 8GB of memory or the high-end MacBook Pro, the cost changes of DRAM and NAND flash memory will be directly reflected in the overall machine pricing and configuration strategy.
Apple's recent adjustments to its desktop product line are seen as a side manifestation of this pressure. Last week, the company canceled the 512GB memory upgrade option for Mac Studio in the official website configuration, and the maximum memory capacity of this model is currently limited to 256GB. At the same time, the upgrade price of the 256GB option has also increased significantly: on the high-end M3 Ultra model, it previously cost an additional US$1,600 to upgrade from 96GB to 256GB, but now the price of the same upgrade has increased to US$2,000.
TrendForce pointed out that in this round of component price increases, "first-tier brands" with close relationships with suppliers and strong bargaining power are better positioned to buffer cost impacts through scale and contract price locks. For Apple, this means that it is still possible to maintain a relatively competitive product and profit structure in some price segments despite rising prices in the overall industry. However, the move to reduce Mac Studio upgrade options also shows that even if Apple has strong control over the supply chain, it is still difficult for Apple to completely avoid systemic pressure in the global memory and processor market.
According to industry insiders, if memory and CPU prices continue to run at high levels in 2026, a large number of mainstream models in the Windows camp will have to increase prices, reduce configurations, or reduce product lines to cope with cost pressures. Apple, on the other hand, may try to control the direct impact on terminal selling prices while maintaining brand premiums by streamlining configuration options and re-dividing price levels.