The last revision of iMac and Mac mini saw huge price rises in the UK (about £150 for the iMac). Now, if you've been following Apple for a while, this is because their prices, while stable in the US, in the UK depend on the $ -> £ exchange rate. £ is strong, goods are (slightly) cheaper, £ is weak, goods are so expensive it makes you want to cry. So if you plan on buying anything Apple in the UK and you are waiting for a revision, the exchange rate is a quite reliable predictor of prices. Currently, on the exchange rate front, there is some good news and some bad news:
Good news: The iMac and Mac mini (Mar '09) were introduced when £1 -> $1.40. Now it's £1 -> $1.52,
Bad news: The MacBook family (Oct '08) was introduced when £1 -> $1.74. The exchange rate at the moment is weaker than that (again £1 -> $1.52).
So let's look at the good news. The 24" 2.66 GHz iMac was launched for a pre-tax price of £1,042.67 while it sold in the US for $1,499. At launch, UK sales gave Apple $1,459 per unit (so they were making a small loss, how kind). Now, thanks to a stronger £, it's giving Apple $1,585 per unit sold. That's just one example, but for the whole iMac and Mac mini line-up it's the same story. What does this mean? Well if we are to get an update any time before 2010, given a stable £ (it's been slowly but reliably climbing for over a month), we could see a small price drop on the Mac mini (£50), and the iMac (£50 - £100). Of course, there are rumours of price drops in the US so if that happens, we could be in for a bigger price drop.
On the flipside, you have the MacBook family. These guys are much more likely to get updated sooner, maybe even as soon as next month, so if you're readying your cards, here's what to expect. The 15" 2.66 GHz MBP is at a pre-tax price of £1,488.70, while US retail is $2,499. At launch, UK sales generated $2,590 per unit. Now its $2,263 per unit. This means Apple is making far less than they used to (and less compared to US units sold) per UK MB, MBP, MBA sold. Sadly, this means we could see a price rise of around £50 on the MB and anything around £100 on the MBP and MBA. The silver lining, is that again, there are rumours of price drops (possibly stopping any price rise) and Apple's MacBooks are quite popular so they wouldn't be too keen on raising prices.
Also, VAT rises from 15% back to 17.5% at the end of the year, so if you want to save around £30 on a new machine, buy before year end. On a final note, I know I haven't talked about Apple's shipping costs, extra hidden costs for Apple etc. but I have taken that into account with my drops/ rises predictions.
EDIT: Since posting, the £ has gotten a lot stronger, even hitting £1 -> $1.60. Whether it will be able to maintain this amount is unknown, but if it does it would mean drops and rises predicted here could be slightly off.
Good news: The iMac and Mac mini (Mar '09) were introduced when £1 -> $1.40. Now it's £1 -> $1.52,
Bad news: The MacBook family (Oct '08) was introduced when £1 -> $1.74. The exchange rate at the moment is weaker than that (again £1 -> $1.52).
So let's look at the good news. The 24" 2.66 GHz iMac was launched for a pre-tax price of £1,042.67 while it sold in the US for $1,499. At launch, UK sales gave Apple $1,459 per unit (so they were making a small loss, how kind). Now, thanks to a stronger £, it's giving Apple $1,585 per unit sold. That's just one example, but for the whole iMac and Mac mini line-up it's the same story. What does this mean? Well if we are to get an update any time before 2010, given a stable £ (it's been slowly but reliably climbing for over a month), we could see a small price drop on the Mac mini (£50), and the iMac (£50 - £100). Of course, there are rumours of price drops in the US so if that happens, we could be in for a bigger price drop.
On the flipside, you have the MacBook family. These guys are much more likely to get updated sooner, maybe even as soon as next month, so if you're readying your cards, here's what to expect. The 15" 2.66 GHz MBP is at a pre-tax price of £1,488.70, while US retail is $2,499. At launch, UK sales generated $2,590 per unit. Now its $2,263 per unit. This means Apple is making far less than they used to (and less compared to US units sold) per UK MB, MBP, MBA sold. Sadly, this means we could see a price rise of around £50 on the MB and anything around £100 on the MBP and MBA. The silver lining, is that again, there are rumours of price drops (possibly stopping any price rise) and Apple's MacBooks are quite popular so they wouldn't be too keen on raising prices.
Also, VAT rises from 15% back to 17.5% at the end of the year, so if you want to save around £30 on a new machine, buy before year end. On a final note, I know I haven't talked about Apple's shipping costs, extra hidden costs for Apple etc. but I have taken that into account with my drops/ rises predictions.
EDIT: Since posting, the £ has gotten a lot stronger, even hitting £1 -> $1.60. Whether it will be able to maintain this amount is unknown, but if it does it would mean drops and rises predicted here could be slightly off.
