Apple’s top-spec 16-inch MacBook Pro has topped $10,000 for the first time. The base model price increase was limited, but sharply higher costs for memory and storage upgrades pushed the top configuration into five digits.

NineToFiveMac reported on June 29 that after a recent price adjustment, the top-spec 16-inch MacBook Pro sells for $10,149 (about 15.7 million won).

This price increase was more pronounced in higher-end options than in the base model. Apple-focused blogger John Gruber said his analysis showed the base model rose about 13 to 15 percent, but memory and storage upgrades rose by much more. In particular, memory upgrade costs rose by up to 100 percent in some tiers.

The top-spec model includes an M5 Max chip, an 18-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, 128GB unified memory, an 8TB SSD and a nano-texture display. Higher option prices lifted the final selling price sharply, taking it above $10,000 for the first time.

Gruber said, "The base model price rose about 14 percent, but memory and storage upgrades rose by much more," adding, "The top-spec 16-inch MacBook Pro ultimately broke through the $10,000 level."

Such a top configuration is bought by a very limited group. Not many users choose both 128GB memory and an 8TB SSD, and Gruber also described it as an "extremely niche specification." Even so, the fact that the highest-end price of a professional laptop has moved into five digits is prompting renewed attention to Apple’s option pricing policy.

Apple has long set high additional charges for memory and storage upgrades across its Mac lineup. With higher-end options seeing bigger increases than the base model in this adjustment, an analysis is emerging that its pricing strategy targeting professional demand has been further strengthened.

As a result, consumers looking to buy a high-performance MacBook Pro for work now need to consider memory and storage option prices along with the base selling price.

The industry views the increase as closer to a profitability-boosting strategy focused on higher-end configurations than a simple price adjustment. With the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which draws concentrated professional demand, the final purchase price gap widens sharply depending on memory and storage choices, and consumer reactions are expected to show up first in upper-mid options rather than the top specification.