The 2020 MacBook Pro has a lot going for it, but cheap is not one of them. And now Apple has doubled the price of one of the most sensible upgrades buyers can order at its own stores.

First spotted by MacRumors, the cost of RAM upgrades has now doubled in many markets around the world, reflecting the ongoing supply chain disruption caused by the spread of the coronavirus.

In the US, the price of a RAM upgrade from 8GB to 16GB jumped from $100 to $200, and in Germany from €125 to €250. In the UK, it went from £100 to £200, pouring more salt on an already cruel currency conversion wound.

This is what is called a stealth price increase, and most people will not change their specs and will simply accept Apple's recommended load-out. The company has apparently decided to absorb the cost of the RAM already built into the laptop. Perhaps they thought it was better to take a small hit to their profit per unit than to damage their reputation by raising the price of a device that has been on the market for less than a month.

Interestingly, the price increase appears to affect only certain types of RAM used in the basic 2020 MacBook Pro. Upgrading from 16GB to 32GB of the faster RAM used in 10th generation Intel machines will result in a $400 price increase, the same as yesterday.

If you're dead set on having 16GB RAM, this price increase makes one of the MacBook Pro's main rivals look a little more attractive. The cheapest 16GB 13-inch MacBook Pro is currently $1,499, while the cheapest Dell XPS 13 2020 is only $1,249.

Nevertheless, this is like comparing apples and oranges. Historically, MacOS consumes considerably less RAM than Windows, and of course, there are user experience differences that cannot be expressed in monetary terms.

In any case, it is perhaps telling that even a company with margins like Apple is passing on rising supply chain costs to consumers.