Amazon blamed the price increases on memory and storage component costs.
Amazon blamed the price increases on memory and storage component costs.
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Citing “significant increases in memory and storage component costs,” Amazon has raised prices on Echos, Kindles, Fire TVs, and Eeros by up to 60 percent, as first reported by Fortune.
The cheapest products in Amazon’s lineup were hit hardest, with the Echo Dot smart speaker jumping from $49.99 to $79.99. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max also rose by over 40 percent to $84.99, and the base level Kindle now costs $149.99, a nearly 37 percent increase.
In a statement to The Verge, Kristy Schmidt, senior communications manager of Amazon’s Devices & Services divison, said, “The consumer electronics industry is facing significant increases in memory and storage component costs. After absorbing these increases for as long as we could, we recently adjusted pricing across our product lines. Our approach has always been to offer great products at accessible prices, and that commitment hasn’t changed.”
Amazon’s flagship Echo Dot Max smart speaker, which launched last year, now costs $119.99, up from $99.99. Apple increased the price of its comparable HomePod Mini this summer to $129 from $99.99, also in response to rising costs. The Google Home Speaker remains at $99.99 for now.
Amazon hardware products apparently not affected include its line of Ring cameras and video doorbells, and the Echo Studio, its higher-end $219.99 smart speaker.
Updated August 22nd: Added a statement from Amazon.
