AXIOS (Courtenay Brown) - The AI price shock is here: Apple, Microsoft hike prices
People spend a lot of time on their devices. The AI boom means they will also be spending more for them. Why it matters: The enormous sums of money going into the AI race are driving up costs for resources and components throughout the economy. - That's now becoming increasingly apparent to ordinary Americans who might have thought that AI's impact would be primarily on their jobs. Driving the news: Apple provided the clearest evidence yet Thursday, raising prices by as much as 25% on MacBook and iPad models — and blaming soaring memory chip costs due to AI demand. - The same memory squeeze is now hitting gaming consoles. Also on Thursday, Microsoft announced price increases of as much as $150 on Xbox consoles — which comes after…