Driven by a global RAM shortage from AI demand, tech prices—from Apple’s MacBook lineup to Xbox and PlayStation consoles—are surging in South Africa, making 2026 a tough time for buyers. Picture: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
Image: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
I’ve written quite a bit about my frustration with Apple’s massive price hikes. Not that the tech giant pays much attention to a lone technology writer, but in the interest of fairness: they are far from the first hardware and software corporation to join this party.
The culprit? A global shortage of RAM, unified memory, and storage, driven by the insatiable demands of AI workflows. Modern users simply need more memory to run resource-heavy applications like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and Perplexity AI.
In reality, Apple was just the last major tech company to raise its prices. Thanks to long-term supply contracts signed well in advance, Cupertino managed to stay immune to the "RAM-pocalypse"—until recently.
Over the past year, Windows laptops across the board have seen multiple price hikes. For a brief, bizarre moment, that made Apple look like one of the more reasonable brands on the shelf. However, the old order has officially been restored, and Apple is once again charging eye-watering premium prices for its hardware.
Take the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air: prior to the recent overnight price adjustment, it retailed for R19,999. It has since jumped by R6,500 to R26,499—a staggering increase of over 32%. Meanwhile, Apple’s newest and most affordable 2026 offering, the MacBook Neo, launched at R11,999 but has already climbed to R13,999—a R2,000 (16.67%) bump in short order.
This places the entry-level MacBook Air at nearly double the price of the Neo. Budget-conscious buyers looking for a Mac will almost certainly gravitate toward the Neo, despite the base model's performance trade-offs. Even at R14,000, the Neo remains a good—if no longer great—value proposition.
Alarmingly, the damage isn't limited to computers.
Consider the Xbox Series S and Series X, which launched nearly six years ago. The lower-spec Series S debuted at $300 (around R5,100 at standard conversion), while the Series X landed at $500 (roughly R8,600). Naturally, local import costs made them slightly pricier in South Africa, but not dramatically so at the time.
I bought my Xbox Series S in March 2023 for R5,999. Today, that exact same console retails for R9,998. That is a R4,000 markup for six-year-old hardware. Instead of depreciating as technology usually does, the price keeps climbing. If you want the top-tier Series X today, you're looking at around R14,999. Back when I bought my Series S, the R11,000 price tag on the Series X felt too steep to justify the performance boost—especially given the R5,000 gap between models, which meant I could have almost bought two Series S consoles for the price of one.
Microsoft isn't alone here. Sony’s base PlayStation 5 Digital Edition saw its price rise from $400 at launch in 2020 up to $500 by 2025. PlayStation continues to lead the console race—holding roughly 75 million unit sales compared to Xbox's 31 million—meaning millions of gamers are feeling the exact same pinch.
The bottom line? As we move through 2026, it is a terrible time to buy almost any new piece of tech; you will be overpaying. The dilemma, however, is that there’s no guarantee prices will cool down anytime soon—making right now both the absolute best and worst time to buy.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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