While most people are distracted with the much-awaited reveals of the iPhone X, iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K, the tech giant made a subtle move of increasing the prices of the Ipad Pro. Unfortunately, the change in prices did not equate to any change in features. MacRumors first spotted the change on Tuesday, shortly after the Apple launch event ended.
Modified price tags
When the Apple Store came back online after Tuesday's event, its iPad Pro tablets added $50 to their price tags. The cost of the 10.5-inch model in 256GB went up from $749 to $799 while its 512GB configuration increased from $949 to $999.
The bigger size 12.9-inch iPad Pro also had changes in price with its 256GB version jumping from $879 to $929 and the 512GB counterpart from $1,129 to $1,079. The Verge reported that even iPad Pro prices in the international market have also followed the same trend.
Although more expensive, the tablets neither showed upgrades or more powerful components. Essentially, this means that customers are paying more for the same device. The adjustment in prices is nothing uncommon for Apple; however, it is usually followed by a refresh of its lineup with updated devices. This time, however, the only difference is the cost.
Why the change in price?
As of this writing, no official statement or explanation has been released by Apple.
There are a few factors to help explain the hiked prices. Back in June, a report from Reuters suggested that there is a global shortage of the memory chips that provide the storage in iPads. Even though the article suggested that tech titans such as Samsung and Apple are unlikely to be affected, both companies already secured enough supply for the rest of the year.
Given the lack of supplies, they sure cost higher than the normal price.
In addition, the cost pressure from the memory chips showed in the company's second quarter earnings. It seems like for now, the negative effect of shortage clearly fell on the tablets' prices. On the other hand, Apple is further contributing to the lack of supply as shown in the three new iPhones that debuted on Tuesday.
The incredibly expensive iPhone X, for instance, need DRAM and NAND chips. Such feature requirement pushed Apple to stock up in orders while other manufacturers rallied to ensure they also the chips on hand. While it is uncertain if and when the prices of the iPad pro will resume to their previous costs, hopefully, the supply stabilizes soon.
