Apple Updates Retina MacBook Pro with New Processors, Drops Pricing on 13-Inch Models and High-End MacBook Air

Eidorian said:

I do not see a reason for Apple to "test the waters" when it comes to prices. This happened when the MacBook Air first launched and are we seeing a redux with the Retina hardware? SSD/NAND prices have also tanked hard in the past 6 months.

Other vendors tend to adjust prices much more quickly and ship newer hardware out the door closer to its initial release. All of this component information is easily available elsewhere but Apple still plays the game as if they have control of the mystery box.

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Apple sells a differentiated product. Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. compete primarily on specs and price, and they also don't have their own networks of retail stores, so they will change prices more often.

It could also be that Apple deliberately kept the 13" price high during the holidays to keep demand manageable. They might have done too good a job, which is why the price drop came sooner rather than later, but I was predicting on other threads a few weeks ago that we'd see a $1499 base rMBP and $1699 256GB version. I just figured it would come with Haswell this summer, rather than with the Ivy Bridge refresh in February. Now I wonder if well see a $1299 Haswell model.

Andy-V said:

Yeah, that's what I'm waiting for. I still feel they need more powerful graphics for their displays.

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What are you basing that off of? I have the 15-inch retina, and 90% of the time it runs on the Intel 4000, without a problem. That being said, better graphics is always a plus

Is 2.7 i7 quad-core processor mentioned in this early 2013 model identical to the one in the 2012 CTO model?

Conundrum--suggestions appreciated:

I bought my first mac, a refurbished 13" MBA w/8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and i7 processor. It's been 13 days. I'm wondering if I should return it today/tomorrow and purchase a refurbished 13" rMBP w/8GB RAM, 256 SSD, and i5 processor for about $100 less than what I paid for my MBA. I'm mostly using this for surfing the web, downloading music/movies, and some light word processing. Thoughts? Thank you!

I was really hoping they'd increase the video performance of these. They're very laggy under load. A high-res 15" with SSD performs significantly better.

Pretty disappointing.

KPOM said:

Apple sells a differentiated product. Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. compete primarily on specs and price, and they also don't have their own networks of retail stores, so they will change prices more often.

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Apple's back end and prestige delusion drives up their prices? I can believe that and that is why I laugh at their first run retail pricing.

KPOM said:

It could also be that Apple deliberately kept the 13" price high during the holidays to keep demand manageable. They might have done too good a job, which is why the price drop came sooner rather than later, but I was predicting on other threads a few weeks ago that we'd see a $1499 base rMBP and $1699 256GB version. I just figured it would come with Haswell this summer, rather than with the Ivy Bridge refresh in February. Now I wonder if well see a $1299 Haswell model.

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Now that is something I can get behind. Christmas, year after year, is the worst time to buy new computer hardware. You should be waiting until after CES and failing that after Computex. So that is a June-October window.

Seems to me Australia played a role in this new pricing

Tigger92 said:

You would be surprised to see just how many are on the campus where I work. The majority of students have macbook/pro/air (more than windows laptops) and many of them are retina based.

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Totally agree. I've seen many Retina MacBooks at the UW here in Seattle. I think students see the value of crisp sharp text since they are doing their school work constantly. Whether Office, iWork or engineering, the sharper screen makes all the difference

Prof. said:

I go to a college in a very affluent area. Only two students at my college that I'm aware of have a rMBP. Everyone has either a MBA, cMBP, or iPad. Nice try, though.

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"An affluent area," huh? Ok, congrats?

I teach college in a relatively poor and rural area (especially compared to Chi-town); your observations don't dictate my reality. Sorry.

So any other changes? WIFI AC

I will buy a new MBP, but only with WIFI AC!!

Eidorian said:

Apple's back end and prestige delusion drives up their prices? I can believe that and that is why I laugh at their first run retail pricing.

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Just because other manufacturers sell at razor-thin margins doesn't mean they want to. They have no other choice since they don't have much else to differentiate their products. The whole point of Intel's Ultrabook product was to increase average selling prices of notebooks. Apple has its own OS, and a customer base that places a premium on their designs. They are likely still getting 40% margins with the new pricing.

Still expensive but much better prices in the UK now. I'm glad in some ways that I purchased my cMBP in December as if I was choosing now it would be a much more difficult decision.

It's nice to see $200 = £200. I'd have thought we'd get a £100 decrease based on the US price drop.

KPOM said:

Apple sells a differentiated product. Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. compete primarily on specs and price, and they also don't have their own networks of retail stores, so they will change prices more often.

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Apparently, the "compete in specs and price" that Tim Cook said really caught up among Apple fans and will be repeated through exhaustion. It turned into an undisputed reality and I've seen this phrase repeated in this forum a thousand times since it was reported that Tim Cook said that.

Here's the treat, folks: Apple ALSO competes on specs and price. Apple launched a 128 GB iPad just after Microsoft released the Surface Pro; and now Apple is dropping the price and raising the specs of specific models of its MacBook Pros and Airs, ahead of the expected release schedule, and before the launch of Haswell. Apple has this whole "experience" marketing, but, believe me, (lots of) consumers are no fools.

I believe that intel recently announced that they've started mass production of Haswell chips, which means that they've lowered the price for current inventory.

This is epic.
I nearly bought a refurbished high end cMBP. But something told me to wait. So I did.
Now I can configure the standard with 1GB GPU and the 2.6 i7, while leaving the RAM and HDD stock. 200 cheaper, YEAAAAH!!! I allready have an SSD to replace the HDD with and the RAM is much cheaper elsewhere. I only actually want the 1GB GPU. They want 250 to go from 2.6 to 2.7 i7??? Whaaaat
This move was very unlike apple, I wonder what drove them to do it.

Im also very impressed that they lowered the prices on the 13" rMBP.

Respect

Thank you Apple. Please keep up the good work.

wingsabre said:

I believe that intel recently announced that they've started mass production of Haswell chips, which means that they've lowered the price for current inventory.

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I agree this is a price change for the Intel core that Apple is passing alone.

I have a quick question as I have never timed my purchases so close to a refresh: Are the upgraded models available in the store immediately?

I planned on buying a 15" rMBP (base) on Friday morning in the local Apple Store...

ChadwickS said:

Apple just cut the price on the MacBook Pro with Retina Display... bought one in Aug- can I get the difference, Steve? - Rocco Pendola (@Rocco_TheStreet)

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August! I don't know what the statute of limitations are for Apple anger at new products, but I think you've broken it.

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And more to the point, who's Steve? Unless of course this person is a spirit medium and the question was asked using an Ouija board!

wingsabre said:

I believe that intel recently announced that they've started mass production of Haswell chips, which means that they've lowered the price for current inventory.

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That's probably not the reason for the price drops, as Apple is supposed to keep the pricing strategy in the next refresh. Seems like a permanent price point, since it seems to be moudling the pricing of its MacBook Series (it already discontinued the top-range 15-inch non-retina MacBook Pro).

I see the following reasons for the price drop: (i) retina displays and flash storage are likely cheaper now than a few months ago; (ii) fierce competition from Windows laptops, with Surface Pro being sold out and ultrabooks being upgraded with 1080p displays; and (iii) slow sales of the 13-inch retina models (if Amazon.com chart is to be believed, the 13-inch retina model was selling less than other Apple models, including the more expensive 15-inch retina, what leads to believe that consumers were not seeing much value in this particular model).

Well this is disappointing to a 15" rMBP owner. And I ordered on release day, I can't imagine how I would feel if I had purchased one around the holiday's!

ahall52 said:

I have a quick question as I have never timed my purchases so close to a refresh: Are the upgraded models available in the store immediately?

I planned on buying a 15" rMBP (base) on Friday morning in the local Apple Store...

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I bought mine locally last week, and have a close friend who works at the Apple Store. I am going to swap this one to the refresh, and he said they are expecting their stock early next week sometime.

Sad news for early adopters (me).

I feel sorry for all those who spent 1300 on 768GB flash option.
its 400 now

skaertus said:

Here's the treat, folks: Apple ALSO competes on specs and price. Apple launched a 128 GB iPad just after Microsoft released the Surface Pro; and now Apple is dropping the price and raising the specs of specific models of its MacBook Pros and Airs, ahead of the expected release schedule, and before the launch of Haswell. Apple has this whole "experience" marketing, but, believe me, (lots of) consumers are no fools.

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I never said Apple doesn't care about specs or price. However, they don't rely solely on specs and price to differentiate themselves. I've also said this long before yesterday's Goldman Sachs conference.

Of course they compete on specs and price, but they also compete based on their market image and their proprietary operating systems. Dell and HP can't do that. They also compete on their designs. Others have tried, but few have succeeded there (Samsung with smartphones being a notable exception). They can't trot out Core 2 Duo machines in 2013 (though they did as late as May 2011), and evidently $1699 was a bit of a stretch for the rMBP, but they aren't going to be continually tinkering with prices and specifications the way other companies do. They will do so at product refresh dates, which usually come once or twice a year. Mid-cycle refreshes of the MacBook Pro are nothing new. They did this in November 2011. Large price drops are also nothing new. They did this with the original iPhone in September 2007, the MacBook Air in October 2010, and now the rMBP. However, we won't see a $50 price drop next month, or the 2.7GHz i5 option being added to the base 13" the way we might with others.

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The-Pro said:

I feel sorry for all those who spent 1300 on 768GB flash option.
its 400 now

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$700. It's still a big drop, though. That was across the board. Apple's NAND pricing finally caught up with reality. SSDs have been $1/GB for almost a year now.