Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

[mike090910]

This is the result of way to many idle programmers with nothing to do but mess with customers.

 

[Frantisekj]

Would have been a good opportunity to launch M5 Pro/Max with this new buying page.

I think they are preparing for that. There were rumors that cpu will have more variations.

 

[aggravated_raspberry]

Apple Intelligence isn’t even necessary for this, simple conditional logic can prevent impossible combos. If M5 selected, hide 96GB RAM, etc. Or let 96GB be chosen, then display a modal with CPU change information, let it be changed without going back a step.

This is exactly what they've done. If you go through the buying process, they aren't sending you back a step. They make it clear that picking a different option triggers a chip change and price difference, then show a modal with a 'before and after' to review before moving forward to the next option.

This just looks like design pattern consistency to me with the other products (eg. iPhone, iPad, Watch as others have mentioned), the previous Mac online store pages were an OLD design. I'm pretty sure they've been structurally the same since the online store launched!

 

[nt5672]

But surely they are still stocking pre-config models for in-store and other retailers, right?

I have never bought a pre-configured model. So I always end up ordering directly from Apple.

Hopefully this will encourage other retailers to stock a wider range of devices.

 

[TokyoKiller]

This makes it much easier for Apple to adjust pricing for different parts as supply chain constraints come and go.

 

[macbookj0e]

This new design is slower and harder to compare overall specs but maybe that’s apples idea. Prefer it how it was to be honest but I’m probably in the minority.

 

[gaximus]

This first attempt was done sloppily. After you've selected your CPU, it still offers you RAM options that are incompatible with the CPU you've selected, then asks you to go back and change your earlier choice if you don't want to change your selected RAM. Shouldn't this process be able to use enough Apple Intelligence to avoid offering an impossible choice?

This is exactly how it should work. if I want more RAM and don’t know exactly what processors support which RAM amounts, then I would think that it just isn’t an option, because I selected the wrong one.

This way if I wanted 48GB of RAM and selected the base chip, I get the option to change the chip, vs thinking the option doesn’t exist.

 

[Pezimak]

Wonder if it makes Macs cost more like this? Rather then deselecting the pre built options and adding to them?

 

[buckwheet]

I think this is better.

Yeah, I'm basing this on a pretty wobbly foundation since I haven't spec'ed out the machine I'd buy in quite a while, but when I tried this new system it was actually less expensive than the last time I looked into a new MBP estimate. The strange thing is that the process doesn't seem that different to what I remember, so I'm not sure where the savings would have come from... But it also tells me that the higher price on my previous attempt was probably because I'd been forced into a spec that didn't matter to me—and a fairly pricey spec at that. So, I think this is a good change. I suppose if their assembly automation has come far enough they may be able to save money by only using higher cost/lower margin components for those who actually want them. So maybe—and I realize I'm being very optimistic here—this is actually win-win. Wouldn't that be miraculous! Haha...