TNB Tech Minute: Apple Hikes Prices for Macs and iPads

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Many companies are struggling to scale their AI deployments or even move them past the pilot stage. Often the problem isn't technology, but organizational misalignment around goals, processes and incentives. At the break, join Caroline Roach, a senior partner, IBM Consulting, to learn why.

**Danny Lewis** (0:16)
Here's your morning TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, June 25th. I'm Danny Lewis for The Wall Street Journal. As of this morning, Apple's computers and iPads are more expensive. Last week, CEO Tim Cook told the Journal in an interview that higher component costs driven by surging demand from AI companies made price increases, quote, unavoidable. Apple briefly took down its online store early today, and when it came back, the price tags for Mac computers were as much as 20 percent higher, and iPad prices rose up to 25 percent higher. iPhone prices remained the same, but in a statement, Apple hinted at more increases to come.
The European Union says Amazon and Microsoft should be required to take extra steps to ensure they aren't stifling cloud computing competition under the bloc's Digital Markets Act. EU officials said today that preliminary findings showed Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure had revenue, operations and investments that seemed to have significantly outpaced their competitors, on top of their vast user bases. Officials said the company's AI tools and partnerships are fueling a demand for cloud services, which both tech giants appear to retain within their ecosystems. An AWS spokesperson said it disagrees with the findings and will continue to work with the Commission on the matter. A Microsoft spokesperson also said the company would work with the EU.
And BlackBerry lifted its 2027 fiscal outlook thanks to higher first quarter results driven by embedded software growth. The company, whose name was once synonymous with the early smartphone era, said it sees expanding opportunities in its platform for running AI-enabled industrial and robotic systems. BlackBerry raised its high-end revenue projections from $611 million to $621 million.
That's your TNB Tech Minute. Join us again this afternoon for more.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:01)
Scaling AI successfully requires more than the right technology. Here again is Caroline Roach, senior partner, IBM Consulting.

**Caroline Roach** (2:08)
The biggest thing that we were talking about a year ago is what model to use. The biggest thing that I'm talking about with my clients now is how do I drive change within my organization.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:20)
Companies able to identify correct and then avoid misalignment will be best positioned to deliver meaningful business value from AI.

**Caroline Roach** (2:26)
The organizations that are the most successful set very clear targets and have several priorities that are very clear across the enterprise. The technology is really good, but if you're not changing your organizational alignment, not incentivizing your people correctly, not looking at workflows, you're not going to see real value with it.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:47)
Visit ibm.com/think/leadership to learn how building organizational alignment can help deliver AI deployments that scale and drive growth.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:55)
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