[Analemma_]

RAM prices started climbing more than 18 months ago. Apple’s contracts are long-term but not that long-term: they probably just expired. (If you assume a 3-year contract, 18 months is how long it would take on average for a specific market shock to hit you)

[matthewfcarlson]

That's a double edged sword. Assuming it's an 18 month contract, even when ram prices do go back to "normal" it's a year and a half until Apple has savings to pass onto to customers.

[ClarityJones]

Raising prices allows Apple to reduce demand, possibly creating some flexibility in the durations of the current contracts.

[dofm]

Right — if we can know how long ago the contracts were agreed we can predict how much more the price will have to rise, because 20% sounds like the beginning of the problem.

[stouset]

Apple is notorious for their prices being extremely stable for a given SKU. If anything, this is Apple getting out ahead of where they expect memory prices to be long-term, so they can rip off the band-aid once and don’t have to do it again.

[dofm]

Well, hopefully :-)

I am personally working on the assumption that prices will go up again this year or say in January, though as I have an M1 Max here it's not massively urgent.