Apple Explains Doubled Cost Of 13-Inch MacBook Pro RAM Upgrade

Apple has clarified the reason why the cost of upgrading the RAM on the 13-inch MacBook Pro has doubled in recent days.

MacRumors recently reported that Apple has increased the price that entry level 13-inch MacBook Pro buyers have to pay when they want to upgrade the RAM from 8GB to 16GB. Cupertino originally listed the upgrade as costing $100 at the time the device was released. Now, getting the RAM upgraded from an 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory to a 16GB variant will cost $200.

The report indicated that while Apple does adjust its components' selling prices from time to time, doubling the cost of RAM upgrades for a device that was released less than a month ago seems rather “unusual.”

It's also worth noting that since Apple's manufacturing partners in China have started reopening and resuming production amid the COVID-19 crisis, the prices for RAM upgrades would have stabilized, not increased. The sudden increase in the RAM upgrade cost would be more indicative of a “worsened” supply situation, not the other way around.

MacRumors also noted that RAM upgrade costs for the high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro remain unaffected. RAM upgrade costs for Macs remain unaffected as well.

Apple explains

Thankfully, Apple clarified the reasons why the RAM upgrade for the entry level 13-inch MacBook Pro doubled in just a short period of time. The Cupertino tech giant told The Verge that it made a mistake and that it merely corrected the cost as shown in the online store.

The tech giant said the price to upgrade RAM from 8GB to 16GB is $200 across a slew of Macs and MacBooks. These include the iMac and MacBook Air. The price change, as per the Mac maker, is meant to keep the fee consistent.

The Cupertino tech giant also reassured those who purchased the RAM upgrade before the price change that they will “honor the earlier pricing,” which means they will still get the upgrade they bought.

If anything, this recent blunder shows that Apple is also capable of making mistakes. Its promise to those who purchased the RAM before the price was corrected, however, means that it will take responsibility for it as well.