Apple has sharply increased prices across its Mac and iPad portfolio in India, citing an unprecedented surge in memory and storage component costs fuelled by the global artificial intelligence boom. The steepest increase is on the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip and 16GB RAM, launched at Rs 1,69,900, now priced at Rs 2,39,900 — a jump of Rs 70,000. The MacBook Air with the M5 chip rose from Rs 1,19,900 to Rs 1,49,900, while the 15-inch variant costs Rs 1,79,900, up Rs 35,000 from its launch price of Rs 1,44,900. Apple’s entry-level MacBook Neo became Rs 10,000 more expensive. On Apple’s India website, the iPad Pro starts at Rs 1,39,900, the iPad Air at Rs 89,900, the standard iPad at Rs 49,900, and the iPad mini at Rs 69,900. In a statement, Apple said it had resisted passing on higher costs for as long as possible, but the rapid expansion of AI data centers created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. Industry analysts linked the increases to “chipflation,” with memory chip prices rising six-fold over the past year. According to TrendForce, RAM prices shot up by as much as 98% in the first quarter of 202