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Apple Raises Refurbished Mac and iPad Prices After New Product Hikes

Apple has raised the prices of Macs and iPads across its Certified Refurbished online store, following the sweeping new product price hikes introduced earlier today.


Across the affected products in Apple's refurb inventory, prices went up by around $160 to $180 on average, but it was the Mac increases that were generally more eye-watering than the iPad increases.

The Mac increases averaged about $204 at the low end and $330 at the high end. Some of the smaller Mac changes included the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip rising from $1,699 to $1,779 – the Nano-texture version of the same model rose from $1,829 to $1,909. Elsewhere, a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip and Nano-texture display increased from $2,249 to $2,339.

But it was the higher end of the Mac lineup that saw the biggest price increases. A refurbished 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip rose from $1,359 to $1,439, while the highest-priced configuration in that group increased from $2,629 to $3,309. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Max chip also jumped from $4,249 to $4,839.

As for the iPad, the increases were more consistent. Many refurbished iPad models went up by around $120 to $150. In terms of lower-end models, examples include the 10th-generation iPad Wi-Fi 256GB models rising from $339 to $409, while iPad mini 6 models increased from $379 to $459 or from $449 to $529. Some higher-end iPad Pro configurations also saw larger increases of around $230 to $250.

The refurbished price changes are in line with Apple's broader pricing reset for new products, which are said to be due to the company having to grapple with the impact of rising memory and storage chip costs owing to the ongoing AI data center buildout. In other words, if new Macs and iPads become more expensive, refurbished versions also need to rise so that they remain discounted by roughly the same amount.

That said, many of Apple's refurbished units likely contain original memory, storage, and logic boards, or service parts purchased before the latest component cost spike. So this appears to be more a case of increased prices based on Apple's updated pricing structure, rather than the actual cost of each device.
This article, "Apple Raises Refurbished Mac and iPad Prices After New Product Hikes" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Hikes M4 Pro Mac Mini Starting Price Amid Rising Memory Costs

Apple today increased the starting price of the Mac mini with M4 Pro chip by $200, taking the higher-tier model up to $1,599 on its online store.


When the M4 Pro model launched in October 2024, the starting price was $1,399, but Apple has been hit by the rapid expansion of AI data centres, which has driven up the demand for memory and storage chips across the tech industry.

Apple had already raised the Mac mini's effective starting price in May by discontinuing the $599 configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, leaving the $799 model with a 512GB SSD as the new entry-level option. Interestingly, the 16GB RAM / 256GB storage option has now been reinstated, but the $799 starting price remains.

"We have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices," Apple said in a statement given to The Wall Street Journal. "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly," it added.

Apple briefly took down its online store earlier today as it typically does when announcing new products. But when it came back online, the price tags for Mac computers rose approximately 15 percent to 20 percent and iPad prices rose 15 percent to 25 percent. Apart from the price hikes, there were no other changes to the site.
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This article, "Apple Hikes M4 Pro Mac Mini Starting Price Amid Rising Memory Costs" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Report: iPad Mini OLED Panel Mass Production Has Begun

OLED panel mass production has reportedly begun for several upcoming Apple products, including the long-rumored OLED iPad mini and OLED MacBook Pro.


According to a Korean-language ETNews report, Samsung Display started mass production of OLED panels for Apple's first OLED iPad mini this month. The report adds that production of OLED panels for the MacBook Pro is scheduled to begin in July, coinciding with the startup of Samsung's new 8.6-generation OLED production line.

The OLED iPad mini has been rumored for several years now as Apple gradually expands OLED technology beyond the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple brought OLED to the iPad Pro in 2024, and display industry analysts have long expected the iPad mini to follow before the technology eventually reaches the iPad Air.

OLED will replace the current LCD technology used in the iPad mini 7, offering higher contrast, deeper blacks, and improved power efficiency. There are no rumors suggesting exactly when the next β€ŒiPad miniβ€Œ will be released, but a late 2026 launch is widely expected.

The rumored upcoming MacBook Pro redesign – possibly marketed with a higher-tier "MacBook Ultra" moniker – is believed to be next in line in Apple's product lineup to adopt OLED, replacing the current mini-LED technology. Multiple supply chain reports have indicated Samsung Display's dedicated Gen 8.6 OLED production line is key to Apple's Mac transition.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the OLED MacBook Pro will also be the first Mac to adopt touchscreen technology. The machine is expected to be released towards the end of the year or early 2027, depending on how well Apple contends with industry-wide memory chip shortages.

ETNews says Samsung Display and LG Display are supplying all of Apple's OLED panels for products launching in the second half of the year. Samsung and LG are reportedly sharing production of OLED panels for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, while LG Display is said to be the sole supplier for the Apple Watch Series 12. Meanwhile, Samsung will reportedly be the exclusive supplier for the foldable iPhone, OLED iPad mini, and OLED MacBook Pro displays.

The report also claims Chinese display maker BOE is not participating in the iPhone 18 supply chain after quality issues reportedly delayed shipments for iPhone 17 Pro displays.
Related Roundup: iPad mini
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iPhone Ultra 2 Gets Green Light for Development, Says Leaker

Apple's second-generation foldable iPhone has officially been given the go-ahead for development, a prominent Chinese leaker claimed today.


In a post on Weibo, the account known as Digital Chat Station said that the "iPhone Ultra 2 project" has been formally approved, and that the second book-style device will likely use the same display as the first-generation model expected later this year.

The first foldable iPhone will use a foldable 7.8-inch OLED panel supplied by Samsung, based on reports. The display uses a newer design that eliminates one of the traditional screen layers and instead builds the color-filtering layer directly into the display stack, making the screen thinner, lighter, and more power-efficient.

Last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is planning to launch a second-generation foldable iPhone in fall 2027 alongside two 20th-anniversary iPhone models, which could take the names iPhone 20 Pro and iPhone 20 Pro Max.

Digital Chat Station's post on Weibo also said that the iPhone Air 3 has not entered the prototype stage yet, and that its emergence may depend on how sales hold up for the iPhone Air 2, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2027. That model is set to introduce a second camera and will likely offer battery life improvements, per Gurman's report.

Digital Chat Station was the originator of the claim that Apple will call its first foldable the "iPhone Ultra." The leaker has more than three million followers on Weibo, and has a track record of accurately leaking Apple-related information. Still, as with all such reports, the details remain unconfirmed.
This article, "iPhone Ultra 2 Gets Green Light for Development, Says Leaker" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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