

Apple Slashes MacBook Prices by up to $200 - codegeek
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100456846

======
FireBeyond
This is a fairly yawn-inducing story.

Congratulations, Apple, the most profitable company in the computing sector,
announced an 11% discount on a high end laptop.

Should we have an article when Dell bumps fifty bucks off an Inspiron laptop,
too?

~~~
potatolicious
Not earth-shattering news, but significant considering Apple's steadfast
resistance to price drops historically. Apple has very rarely dropped prices
on anything, choosing always to replace it with a newer model at the same
price.

Apple moving something away from a long-standing pricepoint is, IMO,
noteworthy.

Though in this case, perhaps inevitable - the retina pricepoint was never
sustainable.

~~~
mikeash
When was the last time Apple actually dropped prices on an existing model
(perhaps with speedbump) rather than e.g. introducing a new one that happens
to be cheaper?

Maybe I'm forgetting, but I think the last time may have been the original
iPhone, which went from $600 to $400 and angered a lot of early purchasers.

~~~
Samuel_Michon
On June 11, 2012, Apple lowered the price of the base model Mac Pro, from
$2899 to $2499. It increased the RAM from 3GB to 6Gb, but that was all.

[http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/specs/mac-
pro-...](http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/specs/mac-pro-quad-
core-3.2-mid-2010-nehalem-specs.html)

~~~
mikeash
Duh, I should have thought of the Mac Pro. That last "bump" was notoriously
bad, but I didn't realize the price had dropped too.

Any others?

~~~
Samuel_Michon
None as recent, but here's one more:

On October 14, 2008, Apple lowered the price of the base model MacBook, from
$1099 to $999. It upgraded the Combo Drive to a SuperDrive, but that was all.

[http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-...](http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-
core-2-duo-2.1-white-13-early-2008-penryn-specs.html)

So yeah, it's pretty rare for Apple to lower prices on existing Mac models.

------
jpxxx
This was inevitable, regardless of how Mac sales are doing. The classic
MacBook Pro design has no place in 2014's lineup, and you've got to get a
$1700 laptop to a $1200 price point somehow.

~~~
TillE
If they do phase out the non-retina MBPs, that means none of Apple's laptops
will have ethernet ports. On a "pro" machine, for the sake of shaving off a
millimeter or two.

High-resolution displays are great, but Apple's fetish for thinness is causing
some unfortunate side effects.

~~~
bitcartel
Another side effect is the lack of Kensington lock slots on the Retina and
Airs.

~~~
malandrew
This really bothered me when I found out. I was in a coffee ship working and
was forced to pack up my back every time I needed to use the bathroom. The two
solutions out there, one from kensington and the macbracket, are poor
substitutes for having a kensington slot.

~~~
hnriot
Maybe your usage has outgrown camping out in coffee shops...

~~~
malandrew
huh?

------
astrodust
"Apple also missed Wall Street's revenue forecast for the third straight
quarter..."

Maybe Wall Street has no idea what they're talking about. Record revenue? Not
good enough. Apple needs to work on managing expectations better.

~~~
btian
What makes people think that Apple gives a damn about Wall St.?

~~~
jpdoctor
Because 68% institutional ownership and <0% inside ownership means that they
are owned by Wall St, literally and figuratively.

<http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AAPL+Major+Holders>

~~~
raganwald
And are these estimates coming from the major holders? No, they are coming
from brokers and analysts. "Wall Street" is several different things, and
conflating them in this case does nobody any good.

If and when Al Gore holds a press conference and tells Tim Cook what he wants
Apple to do, we can talk about the shareholders running the company. But some
snot-nosed analyst writing a research report estimating sales or material
costs or whatever is not the same thing as owning the company and directing
its activities.

~~~
jpdoctor
> _And are these estimates coming from the major holders? No, they are coming
> from brokers and analysts._

That is correct, and if the OP had asked a different question, then that would
be a good answer.

------
smoyer
"Slashes?" ...

That's only 6% of what my MacBook Pro (Retina, 16GB, SSD) cost (after the
educational discount was applied). When I read "slashes, I'm thinking at least
a 20-30% price reduction!

~~~
Samuel_Michon
At the Apple Store for Education, the base model retina MacBook Pro was priced
at $1599. As of today, that model costs $1399. That's a 13% price reduction.

[http://store.apple.com/us-
hed/browse/home/shop_mac/family/ma...](http://store.apple.com/us-
hed/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro)

------
Irishsteve
Can anyone spell out the differences between the mac book air 13 inch
(assuming I max the cpu and hd) and mac book pro retina 13 difference?

~~~
mdasen
MacBook Air: thinner, lighter, comes with a 1440x900 workspace.

MacBook Pro: retina resolution display with IPS, faster processor (uses
standard mobile Intel processors rather than low-power processors). It comes
with a 1280x800 workspace by default, but since it's a retina display you can
make the workspace larger without losing too much detail.

The MacBook Air is great for mobility if you need the absolute thinnest and
lightest. The MacBook Pro's IPS display is going to have much better viewing
angles and the processor speed will be marginally better. If I were
purchasing, I would go for the MacBook Pro. It comes with 8GB of RAM by
default (I'd have to add $100 for that with the Air), I like IPS displays, and
I don't think I'd mind the scaling for a larger workspace (since things like
text don't see degradation). The drop in price means that the price difference
is $200 (assuming 8GB of RAM in each).

~~~
boundlessdreamz
Macbook pro retina resolution is 2560x1600

~~~
evilduck
That's the panel's native resolution. The (default) effective resolution is
only 1280x800 though, just with much more detail. You can configure it of
course.

In other words, the Macbook Air's 1400x900 will have smaller UI element
rendering and more desktop "workspace" than the out-of-box experience with 13"
MBPr.

------
cygwin98
MBA-style?

That doesn't seem like a good sign.

------
virtualwhys
Can you say Samsung?

If I had any money I'd be short on Apple stock.

Google Nexus ($350) and Samsung Series laptops (max $1,500 for 17") are Apple
killers on the rise.

For similarly spec'd hardware, Apple is quite expensive. I guess you do get OS
X and iTunes...wait, there should be a price reduction just for enduring their
presence ;-)

Sold my spinning beach ball iMac and bought a PC again. Sure Windows blows, I
know, but what can you do? I mean it's not like there's an alternative to the
corporate OS box...or wait, what's this I see here, something called Linux:
Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu,...maybe I'll give Linux a shot.

Apple isn't much different than M$ when it comes down to it, highly
restrictive, although the bling factor is pretty high, nice looking gear.

~~~
virtualwhys
Ahhh, karma accrued and lost, the perils of taking a contra-Apple stance.

Sorry, ditching Apple's BSD for a "real" Linux distro ranks as the 2nd best
developer decision I have ever made (the 1st being switching from Windows to
Apple).

To put in perspective, just picked up a Dell Precision Series M4700: 3840QM
K2000 2GB graphics 16GB (could go 32GB if I ever need it) 256GB SSD 256GB
mSata bluetooth, webcam, backlit, etc. $1,700

Comparable MBP would be at least $3K, no? Picked up a pair of Skullcandy
Aviators, Google Nexus phone, North Face laptop bag and I still have a grand
to go before I get to MBP price tag.

Shit, guess I'll use the remaining grand to get my flight to France, spring
surf season just about to begin ;-0

~~~
Samuel_Michon
You're so right. With Dell, you get twice the computer for half the price:

Dell Precision Series M4700

 _Height: 1.29" to 1.44" / Width: 14.80" / Depth: 10.08" / "Target Starting
weight": 6.33 lbs_

Apple MacBook Pro 15"

 _Height: 0.71" / Width: 14.13" / Depth: 9.73" / Weight: 4.46 lbs_

~~~
gte910h
I disagree here: It is cheaper, but you can't sell it 2-3 years later for
anything other than a couple hundred bucks.

You can CL a used MBP for a considerable portion of it's purchase price 2-4
years later.

If you're unwilling to sell your old MBP, the Dell may very well be a better
deal.

~~~
Samuel_Michon
Please reread my post. There was a joke in there somewhere.

~~~
gte910h
I missed, I was aiming at your parent

