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Only Apple knows the trick to take the lowest spec notebook, sprinkle some retina dust on it and price it as high as possible.

I will pass on this.
 
This is how apple makes its money, obviously more people are gonna buy a 13 rather then a 15 so why not mark the price higher.

...

I think you have that backwards. I think the reason why the 13" is more popular is because of the price, not the size.
 
I'm calling a false rumor on this one.

There's no way Apple is dumb enough to price the 13" rMBP this high. I say THE MOST that the base 13" rMBP will cost is $1499 UNLESS it includes something that the 13" cMBP has, like a discrete GPU.

There's just no way this can be justified. The 13" panel will cost less than the 15" panel, the SDD will be the same so why the higher discrepancy in price? Again unless it has a discrete GPU.

There is already a Macbook Pro 13 at the $1499 price point.
 
Of course it's going to have an SSD. All the rumors point to the same design as the "15 model in a smaller form factor. This means SSD.

Of course it will have an SSD! What makes you think it wouldn't have an SSD??? You would not get the Power Nap feature without it!

I mistyped. I have edited my post as I meant to say it WILL have an SSD lol. Should have proof read it, sorry.
 
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9to5Mac reports that it has begun to receive pricing information on the upcoming 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. According to the information, the entry-level model should be priced in the neighborhood of $1699, a $500 premium over the corresponding non-Retina model.
Current pricing on non-Retina 13-inch MacBook Pro
Interestingly, the estimated $500 price premium for the Retina version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro compares to a $400 premium on the entry-level 15-inch Retina versus non-Retina models. The higher-level 15-inch configuration carries a $600 price premium over its non-Retina counterpart due to the significantly more expensive 512 GB flash storage included with the machine.

Article Link: 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Pricing to Start at Roughly $1699

I mean there is no doubting that these are fantastic laptops, but the prices are just too high, for that same money you can get a PC laptop that might not have a better screen, but does give you better Hardware specs.
 
a year before (almost MBA updated) the cost of the SSD were very high, it is not the same ...

all the big name SSDs dropped a lot, Intel, Samsung, Crucial and will drop further once the new node process yields improves.

That time MBA and it priced made sense, not any more.

you can configure MBP 13" and you can add SSD, 16GB RAM and still have some change.

MBA more portable than MBP, that is the only difference.

Nope. The price of $1699 is what Apple charges today for the MBA configuration I bought by son. This was last July (2012), last summer ended last month.
 
Yes, gonna wait a few years until the price comes down. Maybe I am the only one that think thinks the current non-retina screens are gorgeous enough...

Obviously you have not used the new iPad..? I have seen the MBP Retina 15" at showrooms, this retina screen is not just about resolution, spec, figures, or gimmick. These screens have color saturation, contrast and sharpness beyond anything I have seen in the market today. Everything else, even the super high resolution of the iMac 27", look dull and pixellated by comparison.
 
Are you guys really that ignorant?

Where in the article does it discuss the specs? You know the pics in the article are of the current models, right?

We could say the same about you. Apple doesn't have a history of always putting the best of the best in their products, especially 'Pro' products. Heck Mac Pro is a 'Pro' machine that is, what, two years old? Give me a break.

Course Apple did put a SSD in the current 15" RMBP, so maybe there's hope the 13" will have a SSD as well.

Now that the SSD's are dropping in price, this SHOULD also be reflected in Apple's 13 & 15 books also

That's the keyword, should. But this is Apple we're talking about. The same company who's prices for RAM should be considered a crime. Although to be fair, I think Apple RAM prices or now closer to third party RAM...even though you can upgrade RAM on the RMBP. So Apple forces you to buy RAM through them. Not a good direction for the consumer.
 
I don't understand why everyone thinks it's useless, or say that they're now switching to Microsoft because they're too expensive.. No one cares. There's people out there with enough money to buy one of these and upgrade them every single year. It's like going to a Bentley dealer and saying '150k for a car? Nope, that's too expensive, going over to VW'.

If you can't afford the brand, either find something within the brand that matches your budget, or buy from another brand. The price tag on these 'retina' computers are what they are for a reason, there are years and years of marketing analysis behind them, and Apple is obviously aiming at a certain target. Not for the general consumer. So stop bitching about high prices.
 
We could say the same about you. Apple doesn't have a history of always putting the best of the best in their products, especially 'Pro' products. Heck Mac Pro is a 'Pro' machine that is, what, two years old? Give me a break.

Course Apple did put a SSD in the current 15" RMBP, so maybe there's hope the 13" will have a SSD as well.

.


Are you seriously this dense? If it doesn't have an SSD, I'll eat my hat.
 
If it was real world and Apple had to fight like everyone else does in the market.

13" MBP $899

13" MBP i7 $1199

13" rMBP $1399

13" Air would be $999 starting

Obviously the retina would be an i5 with a 128gb SSD and work its way up in price from there. Damn richers and cash-chuckers (south park reference)
 
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Now that the SSD's are dropping in price, this SHOULD also be reflected in Apple's 13 & 15 books also

Wrong, because you are talking about Apple. It takes no notice at all of what happens in the market, only the maximum it can get away with charging for things, others do this too, but Apple alway's does it.

Don't expect ANY drop in price on any Apple device, only price rises for the Retina models. Also the SSD Apple will use I suspect will be the custom made ones it uses in the 15" which will be expensive.

Sometimes I feel people have no comprehension of Apple, like they choose to ignore it's entire pricing history and business plan? The same old comments get said about it's pricing, price reductions, and they NEVER come true. Hence why the iPad mini IF it get's launched will be expensive. And you lot will buy it in droves.
 
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Who thinks the higher pricing is due to the inclusion of a SSD and dedicated graphics in the base specs.
 
Still hoping for the 1499 base price in line with the 15" high end/Retina low end pattern. Unless the 13 retina has a better processor than the 13 mbp.
 
Actually, yes, you can use that resolution. And, having seen the 15" using a non-native (or 1/4 native) resolution, the scaled versions *aren't* 'awkward' or a 'monstrosity'. It's amazing what a good scaling algorithm combined with sufficient resolution does to enable *good* scaling.

To each his own then. I've seen them in person as well, and I find them horrid looking.
 
Sure. And in the case of the 15" rMBP the retina display commands a price of negative $200 compared to the similarly spec'd cMBP. That's a fact.

Your theories are reasonable, and I'm not claiming my view is definitely the right one. It just seems weird to rely on theories when we have evidence of how Apple is already pricing the retina 15" relative to its non-retina sibling.

You theory is flawed. It isn't relevant evidence. The facts are that rMBP 15" was slotted into the top of the Mac laptop price range and killed off the MBP 17". It was slotted into empty price range.

The rMBP 13" is being slotted into the middle of a price range for laptops. There is zero rational reason to use the same tactics in those two extremely different contexts. The cannibalization impact going to the middle is going to be extremely more sensitive to pricing.

As Apple products get lower the pricing tends to be much tighter. There is a $300 gap between MBP 13" and 15". A $400 gap between MBP 15" and rMBP 15".

The gap for the 13" is going to be higher for two reasons. One the SSD versus HDD. Two, soldered RAM probably it is going to be an 4 versus 8 issue between the two. Couple a substantially higher cost display ( laminated/fused and Retina ) along with increased battery component costs and it is an "apples to oranges" comparison. The specs are different. It is not the BTO pricing that is the primary issue. It is the non-BTO pricing. Delving into the BTO component pricing is just plain misdirection away from the core issue.

Taking the higher component costs and tacking on Apple's usual 30% mark up on non-BTO devices and that will provide a closer track into where the costs are likely to be.

In contrast, at the high end of the price range you are primarily dealing with the most price insensitive users so the the "gouge" can pull off on BTO components is higher, but these insensitive folks are much fewer in number. So they cannot push the base prices for a 15", even with 'Retina' , far over the $2199 level (or even start at the 17" $2499 point.... which was really viable in 2012 anyway). That's why they slotted into the old 17" price range.


Furthermore, Apple has already used $1699-1799 price range for a 13" laptop before during the first couple of years of the MBA. Just like the 're-use' of the MBP 17" range these are sitting there open. If your "evidence" is what Apple has done in the past ... they have done almost exactly this before.

Apple is more likely going to price this under the MBP 15" ( $1799 entry point ) and above the top of the 13" entry point ($1499 top point ). That leaves $1599 and $1699 as the possibilities. If they go with a large SSD and 8GB 'standard' then the $1699 is the far more likely price point.

It will be a new product between the legacy 13" offerings and the legacy 15" offering.
 
Calm down!

I think people need to calm down a little.

I'm not a fan of Apple's high prices either but you have to remember that what matters most to Apple and their investors is margins.

I'm willing to bet that the 15inch cMBP has much higher margins than the 13inch MBPs. a starting price of 1799 vs 1199 just for discreet GPU and a bigger screen? I'm pretty sure most of the mark up goes straight into Apple's pockets.

That means that when Apple released the 15inch retina they didn't have to increase the price too much to maintain what I'm sure they imagine are healthy margins.

They need to increase the price of the 13inch more (relative to the cMBP) to get the same "healthy" margins for a retina version.

Is it great for consumers? No. But I do see a lot more people questioning (as I always have) whether retina displays in a laptop are really worth it anyway. Maybe Apple will be forced to find more useful ways to distinguish their products...

I imagine the prices for these will drop eventually just like the Macbook Air (which was an incredibly bad value when it was first released in 2008)

In the mean time I hope that now that Apple is moving to using solid state storage for almost all their computers they LOWER THE PRICE! 256gb is a reasonable amount of storage to expect for a computer. I shouldn't have to pay $300 more to get it!
 
Let's see here...

1. Bottom of the barrel hard drive with no SSD? Check
2. Dual-Core processor that was outdated 2 years ago? Check
3. No dedicated graphics? Check
4. 1/2 as much RAM as laptops 2 years ago? Check
5. Ridiculously overpriced? You bet your ass, Check!
5. Retina display so we can talk about how magical it is so people overlook the ****** specs? CHECK!!!

Adding this up, we have half the amount of features/specifications of today's laptops at double the price. Better hit up mommy and daddy boys and girls because that's who'll be getting these laptops, the children who need to absolutely have an Apple branded pile of garbage.
 
Scenario

- Saves up for new MacBook Pro
- Buys new MacBook Pro
- Returns home with new MacBook Pro
- Goes to kitchen to get something to eat
- Nothing in the fridge, nothing in the cupboard
- Checks wallet for money
- No money
- Starves to death
 
the issues is not everyone will benefit from the retina display.

retina display iPad, iPhone are different from MBP

...er, then dont buy one? the question here was why rMBPs are more $$ than non. this is the pro line. air and even non-R pros are still options for you until the retina displays become cheap.
 
No wonder apples stock is crashing......all kidding aside, but this pricing is crazy...if someone is gonna pay up for this kinda money they will simply buy the 15"...this 13" model won't have a market!
 
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