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Apple bumps up price on iPad Pro as flash costs climb

Cupertino Idiot Tax gets a $50 increase to cover chip charges

Apple has raised the price on much of its iPad Pro tablet line.

The Cupertino giant did not say why it was bumping up the price for the 256GB and 512GB iPad Pro 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch models by $50. A Wi-Fi only 256GB iPad Pro now costs $649 for the 10.5-inch model and $799 for the 12.9-inch one.

The 64GB models for both tablets will remain the same price.

While Apple hasn't given the reason behind the price increase, speculation is that the rising cost of NAND memory chips, driven by an ongoing shortage expected to last until next year, is behind the decision.

Ironically, one of the main culprits being blamed for the chip shortage is the demand created by Apple's other big-selling product, the iPhone.

The price bump could put a damper on what have been extremely strong sales for the iPad Pro in recent months. Last quarter, Apple said that it sold 11.4 million iPads, a 15 per cent gain credited in part to sales of the Pro following the June introduction of new models.

As the name would suggest, the iPad Pro has been aimed largely at the enterprise and professional markets, where Apple has tried to make inroads both with new hardware and through partnerships with major enterprise software and service vendors like IBM, Cisco, and Accenture.

The increase comes just one day after Apple raised eyebrows with its introduction of a $999 smartphone, the iPhone X. The handset, billed by Apple as the 'future' of its flagship line, carries a price tag that is $300 higher than the starting price of Apple's other new handset, the iPhone 8, and $650 higher than the budget-model iPhone SE. ®

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