Apple (AAPL) has raised the prices charged for its new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers that contain the company’s latest M5 microchip.
The MacBook Pro computer that is 14-inches and contains the M5 Pro chip now starts at $2,199 U.S. and the 16-inch version costs $3,899 U.S., up $400 U.S. each from previous models.
The MacBook Air now starts at $1,099 U.S. for the 13-inch model (up from $999 U.S.), and it costs $1,299 U.S. for the 15-inch version (up from $1,199 U.S.).
The new MacBooks with a more powerful processor arrive as Apple tries to boost demand for its laptop computers.
Apple’s MacBook unit saw sales drop nearly 7% to $8.39 billion U.S. during the year-end holiday quarter, falling well short of analyst expectations of $9 billion U.S. in sales.
Management at Apple have said that they want to convince consumers to upgrade to the newest MacBooks, especially people who are still using old Intel-powered (INTC) devices.
However, Apple’s new computers are also more expensive, which might turnoff some people.
To help justify the higher cost, Apple has increased the starting storage on the MacBook Pro line, offering a minimum of 1TB to customers.
Apple is also marketing the new MacBooks as having greater power and performance, and being able to handle heavier workloads, especially around artificial intelligence (A.I.).
Management have said they want to make the MacBook a credible platform for running advanced A.I. workloads and tools.
The new MacBook lineup was unveiled a day after Apple introduced a low-cost iPhone 17 model and announced a refresh of its latest iPad tablet.
AAPL stock has gained 12% over the last year and is currently trading at $263.75 U.S. per share.
