Prices Surge Across Tech Sector: Laptops and Consoles See Sharp Hikes

An Apple product retailer in Seoul has posted a notice informing customers that product prices will increase starting this month.

The 13-inch MacBook Air model has seen a price hike of 22%, while the iPad mini model has risen by over 33%.

[Apple MacBook Customer: The price is a bit burdensome, so I am giving it a lot of thought. I am even considering switching to a domestic brand instead of a MacBook.]

Home gaming consoles have also joined the wave of price increases.

Sony raised the prices of its PlayStation 5 models by up to 43% last May, and Nintendo is set to increase the price of the Switch 2 by 17% this coming September.

[Hwang Jin-il/Office Worker: I bought one as a gift for my girlfriend, but the price is a bit too burdensome for me to buy one for myself as well. I think it would be right to look into buying one before the prices go up.]

With the global explosion in AI demand causing the prices of general-purpose DRAM and NAND flash memory to rise more than eightfold in just one year, manufacturers are facing pressure to raise prices.

The prices of laptops and custom-built PCs from companies like Samsung and LG Electronics have already increased significantly.

With high oil prices continuing for over four months, compounded by the rising costs of electronic products, the overall consumer price index last month rose by 3.2% compared to a year ago.

This marks the largest increase in 30 months.

The computer category has seen a year-on-year increase of around 20% for two consecutive months, highlighting the so-called chipflation phenomenon.

The government expects the rate of increase to slow down next month as the decline in international oil prices is reflected.

[Lee Doo-won/Director of Economic Trends Statistics, National Data Agency: As petroleum prices fall this month to reflect the decline in the price ceiling, we expect the overall consumer price index to also decline, provided there are no major changes in other areas.]

However, as food prices remain high and the impact of the high exchange rate is reflected in prices with a time lag, the burden on consumers is likely to continue.

Memory remains in high demand… fueling inflation (July 3, 2026, 8 O'Clock News)

Reported by Hong Young-jae | Produced by Yoo Ji-won | Video by Choi Ho-jun | Video Editing by Lee So-young | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.