The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Apple raised iPad and MacBook prices on Thursday, saying it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry's data-centre buildout. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the move does not affect Apple's main cash cow, the iPhone. But it would take starting price of the Neo -- its lowest-priced laptop -- from $599 to $699 months after launch (all figures U.S.). The increase shows even the world's most valuable consumer electronics company with supply chain relationships that are the envy of the industry is not immune to a memory price surge that has dulled the outlook for smartphone and PC sales. Memory makers such as Micron Technology have in recent months prioritized orders from AI chip makers like Nvidia, helping them earn record profit but leaving little supply for electronics makers that have been forced to increase prices. Apple hiked the price of its MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes of storage to $1,299 from $1,099, while the MacBook Pro with one terabyte of storage rose to $1,999 from $1,699. The iPad Air with 128 gigabytes of storage rose from $599 to $749. Apple closed Thursday at $275.15, down $18.02.