It’s not getting any cheaper to own a Mac in Canada, depending on what you’re looking to buy. Apple Canada has quietly increased the price of upgrades and it looks to be because of the lower Canadian dollar.
iPhone in Canada reader RG emailed us on the weekend to say they noticed notable price increases when configuring a custom Mac mini. Below are the price increases compared to October 2024 for the Mac mini, based on our reporting of previous pricing:
Mac mini M4 Upgrades
RAM
Storage
Ethernet
As you can see, upgrading from the base Mac mini will cost you more across the board, from $25 to $200.
When it comes to upgrading a Mac min with M4 Pro, it gets even more expensive. Price hikes are now from $25 up to $600.
Mac mini M4 Pro Upgrades
Looking at the M4 MacBook Air upgrades, increased pricing is the same for RAM and storage, matching the Mac mini. In the US, a 24GB RAM upgrade is $200 CAD, which works out to about $288 CAD. Apple’s price is $300 CAD, so they’re using a 1.50 exchange rate, hedging and matching what was used for the iPhone 16e. Welcome to Canada, baby.
It’s clear the only way to save nowadays is to wait for refurbished Macs to hit the online store. This morning, we told you about M3 MacBook Airs now available from $1,079, which is a bargain.
It will be interesting to see what the price of the iPhone 17 series will be this fall. The way things are going and what we’re seeing with the iPhone 16e pricing here, be prepared for an even more expensive new shiny iPhone.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
As I understand it, Canada will be imposing retaliatory tariffs on computers in a few days. No doubt that will increase USA inbound prices on Apple hardware and other brands even more.
Doesn’t Apple ship them directly from China/ India / Vietnam? I don’t think they go to US first then here? Would Canadian tariffs apply to product shipped directly from Far East?
It’s tricky when considering tariff exposure to international companies such as Apple. In their case, most products are shipped from China or India when they debut. Once they become a regular item, they can be stocked in the USA and shipped from there. I suppose the “Made in…” sticker on the products would determine if it’s subject to the new Canadian tariffs.
Trade rules changing day by day with the current US presidency. There were some reports that Trump may force Canada to match their tariffs on China but I have not seen any reports that they would want them to match their tariffs on India or Vietnam. Let’s see how things go
I mean, we’re nearing record lows of our dollar. We haven’t been this bad since the last Liberal gov in the early 2000’s. Trudeau led us to weakest dollar we’ve had in decades and that’s exactly when we are now being attacked with tariffs and counter-tariffs.
With Carney now in place, this is only going to get worse.
It's true…
I would love to see Doug Ford run for PM. He seemed to impress Trump more than any other Canadian official. He seems to have developed quite a connection in being able to get thru to Trump unlike any other official I have seen, from any country. Trump even called him "a true gentleman" after his phone call where he agreed not to double aluminum and steel tariffs. I don't think Carney or Poilievre can make a similar connection with him as Ford did.
Because Trump likes people that capitulate to him so he can look like he’s “winning”.
It’s shady AF when premiers go for a visit down south and then come back rolling back their strong rhetoric (Ford achieved nothing) and suddenly they’re all best of friends.
Au contraire. Doug Ford’s tough reactions coupled with his “gentleman-like” delivery impressed Trump enough that Trump set up a meeting to explain the order of his plans for April 2 and beyond. In the meeting that Ford inspired, Lutnick did not call him “a numbskull” like he did with a certain other Canadian official. Rather, Ford explained to him gently that Canada is their largest customer to which Lutnick then apparently replied that Canada is viewed by his admin as a friendly country so exemptions to the upcoming tariffs will be negotiated after April 2 announcement. On the other hand Lutnick apparently mentioned that China is viewed by them as an adversary so they may not get much exemptions. So Ford was able to open communication lines to help the Trump admin explain themselves without losing face in the media. The initial April 2 tariffs will be simply to bring countries to the bargaining table. So Ford is ultimately responsible for “bringing down the temperature” to set stage for post-April 2 negotiations.
I have to say that I do like Carney's approach also, i.e., to make his first trips abroad to EU countries rather than US. Shows Trump that Canadian oil and minerals and other businesses can tie up with other countries besides the US. Perhaps Carney and Ford will be able to work together well as a team in post April 2 talks? Let's see how it goes
deleted
Ford does not capitulate to Trump. He is the one that wants to go so far as to cut off hydro power to millions of Americans, not to mention raising tariffs on US products, and pulling off American liquor bottles from store shelves in Ontario. Yet, he also seems to be able to connect with Lutnick unlike many other leaders. I think Lutnick even called Trudeau “a numbskull”. Ford has a talent to make his point across using a totally different style than Trudeau was able to. Ford explained to Lutnick how families and friends were interconnected across the border and yet was still firm in his points he wanted to get across to Lutnick and Trump.
Apple's prices on storage were already insane. Now it's $1200 for 2TB? I bought a 2TB module for $300 to upgrade my M4 Mac Mini and it works great. How can they justify $1000, much less $1200 now?