Apple has just recently unveiled its new tablets, from the 10th generation iPad to the iPad Pro models powered by the new M2 chip. You’d think that those would be the only lineups that see any form of change, but unfortunately you’d be wrong. This is because the iPad range has seen a slight price bump in markets outside of the US and Canada. Which sadly involves us in Malaysia.
GSMArena notes that the iPad mini 6 got its price bumped up during the short Apple Store downtime, when the company added the newly announced models. Also highlighted in the report was the tablet’s Malaysia pricing, which saw an increase between RM100 and RM300 depending on the exact model.
As it turns out, it’s not just the mini model that got more expensive. Going to the Apple Store pages for the other tablets, even the iPad Air 5 and the 9th-gen iPad also saw a price bump of at least RM100 on their most basic configurations. Here’s the comparison between the launch and current price of each model:
iPad mini 6
WiFi 64GB: RM2299 > RM2399
WiFi 256GB: RM2949 > RM3149
Cellular 64G: RM2949 > RM3149
Cellular 256GB: RM3599 > RM3899
iPad Air 5
WiFi 64GB: RM2699 > RM2899
WiFi 256GB: RM3349 > RM3649
Cellular 64G: RM3349 > RM3649
Cellular 256GB: RM3999 > RM4399
iPad 9
WiFi 64GB: RM1499 > RM1599
WiFi 256GB: RM2149 > RM2249
Cellular 64G: RM2119 > RM2349
Cellular 256GB: RM2769 > RM2999
While this is unfortunate, it kind of coincides with the App Store price hike that Apple announced would take place “as early as” 5 October. With the Malaysian Ringgit still trending downwards compared to the US Dollar, this is hardly surprising, if still disappointing. The timing of the silent price bump though, is pretty crafty on Apple’s part, considering all the attention will be on the new iPads being unveiled.
