Why is Apple asking me to pay more for Big Tech’s AI obsession?
Why is Apple asking me to pay more for Big Tech’s AI obsession?
为什么苹果要让我为科技巨头的 AI 执念买单？
Tim Cook recently said price increases were “unavoidable” and described the company’s pricing as “unsustainable.” The 16-inch MacBook Pro saw its price go up by $300. The 11-inch iPad Air went from $599 to $749. Even the HomePod Mini got a $30 bump to $129. Cook squarely placed the blame at the feet of the AI industry, which is not surprising. RAMageddon has already come for your desktop PCs and gaming consoles. The Xbox has seen its price climb nearly 25 percent depending on the model, and Nothing even canceled an entire phone launch. Apple is just the most recent to jack up prices and point the finger at AI.
蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook）最近表示，涨价是“不可避免的”，并称公司目前的定价模式“不可持续”。16 英寸 MacBook Pro 的价格上涨了 300 美元；11 英寸 iPad Air 从 599 美元涨至 749 美元；就连 HomePod Mini 也涨价 30 美元，达到 129 美元。库克将矛头直指 AI 行业，这并不令人意外。“内存末日”（RAMageddon）已经波及了台式机和游戏主机。Xbox 根据型号不同，价格上涨了近 25%，Nothing 公司甚至因此取消了一款手机的发布。苹果只是最新一家涨价并将责任归咎于 AI 的公司。
The price hikes are “basic economics,” says Tim Derdenger, associate professor of marketing and strategy at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. As the tech industry has raced to win the AI war, “the price of RAM has skyrocketed because the memory manufacturers have reallocated their production lines to produce new HBM memory for AI data centers and away from consumer DDR5.” And when the cost of components goes up, companies tend to pass those costs on to consumers.
卡内基梅隆大学泰珀商学院市场营销与战略副教授蒂姆·德登格（Tim Derdenger）表示，这些涨价属于“基础经济学”。随着科技行业竞相赢得 AI 战争，“内存价格之所以飙升，是因为内存制造商将生产线从消费级 DDR5 转向了为 AI 数据中心生产新型 HBM 内存。”当零部件成本上升时，企业往往会将这些成本转嫁给消费者。
But this isn’t some fluke, or temporary supply chain problem. Companies are choosing data center clients over ordinary buyers because “the same chip earns far more inside an AI server than inside a consumer device,” according to Srikanth Jagabathula, professor of technology, operations, and statistics at the NYU Stern School of Business. Regardless of whether people are clamoring for more AI, and more AI data centers, or not.
但这并非偶然，也不是暂时的供应链问题。纽约大学斯特恩商学院技术、运营与统计学教授斯里坎特·贾加巴图拉（Srikanth Jagabathula）指出，企业之所以选择数据中心客户而非普通买家，是因为“同样的芯片在 AI 服务器中赚取的利润远高于在消费设备中”。无论人们是否真的迫切需要更多的 AI 和 AI 数据中心，情况都是如此。
Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft have thrown around unprecedented amounts of money, outbidding companies like Apple for RAM and storage, creating what even Sam Altman has admitted is a bubble. This imbalance has led to record earnings for companies like Micron, which manufactures memory chips. “This shortage is not temporary and might extend into the next few years … And because the increase is lasting rather than temporary, simply absorbing the cost is not a sustainable strategy,” Jagabathula says.
OpenAI、谷歌和微软等公司投入了前所未有的资金，在内存和存储器采购上出价高于苹果等公司，制造了连萨姆·奥特曼（Sam Altman）都承认的“泡沫”。这种失衡导致美光（Micron）等内存芯片制造商获得了创纪录的收益。贾加巴图拉表示：“这种短缺并非暂时现象，可能会持续到未来几年……由于这种成本上涨是持久的而非暂时的，单纯由企业消化成本并非可持续的策略。”
But Apple has posted record earnings for at least four quarters in a row, and its margins on hardware sales are much higher than the industry standard. Its markups are estimated to be between 30 and 40 percent, depending on the product. TechInsights and The Wall Street Journal estimate that it’s even higher on the iPhone 17 Pro, perhaps as much as 47 percent. According to TheStreet, margins on smartphones are typically between 15 and 25 percent. Data on laptop margins is harder to come by, but estimates put it between 10 percent and 25 percent for most of the industry.
然而，苹果至少已连续四个季度实现创纪录的收益，其硬件销售利润率远高于行业标准。据估计，根据产品不同，其加价幅度在 30% 到 40% 之间。TechInsights 和《华尔街日报》估计，iPhone 17 Pro 的利润率甚至更高，可能高达 47%。据 TheStreet 报道，智能手机的利润率通常在 15% 到 25% 之间。笔记本电脑的利润率数据较难获取，但估计行业平均水平在 10% 到 25% 之间。
Apple is actually among the last of the major tech companies to raise its prices. But why are customers being asked to foot the bill when Apple seems well-positioned to absorb these costs?
事实上，苹果是最后几家涨价的大型科技公司之一。但既然苹果完全有能力消化这些成本，为什么还要让消费者来买单呢？
Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, described it as “spot on” to say it’s hard to square Apple’s public financial statements and Tim Cook’s description of its pricing as unsustainable. He said raising prices was “without a doubt” about appeasing shareholders who demand constant growth.
卡内基梅隆大学海因茨学院数字媒体与营销教授阿里·莱特曼（Ari Lightman）认为，将苹果公开的财务报表与库克关于定价“不可持续”的说法进行对比，会发现两者很难自圆其说，这种质疑是“一针见血”的。他表示，涨价“毫无疑问”是为了安抚那些要求持续增长的股东。
Lightman points to Apple’s lagging behind in the AI race, the uncertainty around installing a new CEO in John Ternus, and the lack of a hit new product category as putting pressure on the company.
莱特曼指出，苹果在 AI 竞赛中的落后、新任 CEO 约翰·特努斯（John Ternus）上任带来的不确定性，以及缺乏热门的新产品类别，都给公司带来了压力。
“There’s a lot of things that investors can really beat them up on,” he said, and “if they’re going to be selling the stock and promoting the stock to large institutional investors … in terms of being one of the most valuable companies, then they have to tell a really good story.” And that story is one of huge margins and profits even in the face of rising costs and AI-driven supply constraints.
“投资者有很多理由去抨击他们，”他说，“如果他们想要向大型机构投资者推销股票……作为最有价值的公司之一，他们必须讲出一个非常动听的故事。”而这个故事的核心，就是在面对成本上升和 AI 驱动的供应限制时，依然能保持巨大的利润率和收益。
The AI boom is touching almost every facet of our lives, but this week, it came particularly hard for our wallets with the announcement of another round of price hikes for the Xbox, and even the Arduino got caught up in the memory crunch. I spent hours talking to marketing and business experts, exchanging emails and phone calls, and no one could give me a satisfying answer to why the price of popping up more data centers should be consumers’ costs to bear.
AI 热潮正在触及我们生活的方方面面，但本周，随着 Xbox 新一轮涨价的宣布，我们的钱包感受到了特别沉重的打击，甚至连 Arduino 也陷入了内存短缺的困境。我花了数小时与营销和商业专家交谈，通过邮件和电话沟通，但没有人能给我一个满意的答案：为什么建设更多数据中心的成本，非要由消费者来承担？