India, July 5 -- Consider the price tags. When Apple refreshed its laptops with the M5 chip in 2026, the starting prices did not edge up, they leapt. In India the 13-inch MacBook Air went from Rs 1,19,900 to Rs 1,49,900, the 14-inch MacBook Pro rose Rs 70,000 to Rs 2,39,900, its M5 Max variant by a full Rs 1,00,000, and even the entry MacBook Neo added Rs 10,000 to reach Rs 79,900. Across the range the increases ran 15 to 42 per cent worldwide and as much as 70 per cent in India, and Apple blamed not a faster chip but the soaring cost of memory and storage.

The pattern repeats across the shelf. Microsoft's new Surface Pro starts $600 dearer, the Xbox has been raised three times in thirteen months, and Sony's PS5 Pro went to $900 from $75...