Apple Drops Prices on USB-C Adapters

This is a great first step. However, I still need to see a more reasonable price on the new MBP's before I can purchase. My retina MBP 15" was priced at $2000, which itself was still very expensive, but I could rationalize the hefty price with the inclusion of a retina screen and SSD. Now those two components have been on the market for years and have dropped in price significantly.

What new technology does the new MBP include that justifies a $400 price increase? The touch bar is maybe worth $100 to us, but it's mostly gimmicky. The switch to USB-C may have cost Apple money, but it makes the product less useable for us, at least for the next 1-2 years. The normal specs have all gone up on the MBP, yes, but that's how things work as component prices drop.

As someone who is not yet wealthy, I can't rationalize a $2400 starting price for the 15". My current 15" has taken a beating and is making strange noises (maybe the fan?), but at this price point I'll have to try to repair it rather than replace it. I'm not the anticapitalist sort, but I can see no justification for this price increase other than Apple trying to squeeze every dollar they can from us. If this continues, I'm going to explore my options with Windows products.
 
xkam1x said:
Now apple need to fix the Mac lineup, something like below.

12” Macbook
  • Thin and Light
  • CoreM processor (High End) (fanless)
  • Integrated GPU
  • Retina Display
  • 8GB RAM minimum
  • 256GB SSD minimum
  • 2 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Start at $1000
13” Macbook
  • Thin and Light
  • Core i5 processor dual-core (Mid Range)
  • Integrated GPU
  • Retina Display
  • 8GB RAM minimum
  • 256GB SSD minimum
  • 2 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Start at $1300
13” Macbook Pro
  • Pro machine - not necessarily thin and light
  • Core i7 processor quad-core (Mid Range)
  • Dedicated GPU (Mid Range)
  • Retina Display
  • 16GB RAM minimum
  • 512GB SSD minimum
  • 4 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Start at $1500
15” Macbook Pro
  • Pro machine
  • Core i7 processor quad-core (High End)
  • Dedicated GPU (High End)
  • Retina Display
  • 16GB RAM minimum
  • 512GB SSD minimum
  • 4 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Start at $1700
iMac 21.5
  • Core i7 processor quad-core (Mid Range)
  • Dedicated GPU (Mid Range)
  • Retina Display
  • 8GB RAM minimum
  • 256GB SSD minimum
  • 4 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Start at $1400
iMac 27
  • Pro machine
  • Core i7 processor quad-core (High End)
  • Dedicated GPU (High End)
  • Retina Display
  • 16GB RAM minimum
  • 512GB SSD minimum
  • 4 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1080p Webcam
  • Start at $1700
MacPro
  • Xeon processor hexa-core (Mid Range) to high end
  • 2x Dedicated GPU (Mid Range) to high end
  • 32GB RAM minimum
  • 512GB SSD minimum
  • 6 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 10Gb/s dual ethernet
  • Start at $3500
Mac Mini
  • Core i5 processor dual-core (Mid Range) to i7 High end
  • Integrated and dedicated GPU options
  • 16GB RAM minimum
  • 256GB SSD minimum
  • 2 USB-C Ports minimum
  • 1Gb/s ethernet
  • Start at $600
Click to expand...

When I was young, there were iMacs and iBooks for consumers, the best consumer computers available at that time. And there were PowerMac and PowerBook for the professionals with all the power that real professionals needed.

Nowadays there are MacBooks, Mac Minis and iMacs for the consumers who need something to show off, and there are Mac Pros and MacBook pro for the rich consumers who need to show off harder. There is no Mac anymore for the real professional.

When Steve introduced the first iBook he literally said "So we asked our customers what do you want. What do you need in a portable consumer computer? They all said they want an iMac to go". Steve delivered. Those were the days when Apple really delivered what people needed.

Ah I miss Steve.

Oh did I say screw you Tim in this post? No? Hell Tim screw you, go rot in the Windows hell.
 
SBlue1 said:
Screw SD adapters. There is no way now to stick a 256 GB SD drive into the side of your MacBook to increase the storage. That was the real reason behind axing the SD slot. Apple milking its loyal pro customers... Screw you Tim, shame on you!!
Click to expand...


But if they didn't remove our only way of adding an unlimited supply of extra storage, that we could add to the system without causing unnecessary bulk, they wouldn't be able to "encourage" us to pay extortionate prices to put more storage in at the point of purchase. However good that extra storage may be ;) Still, if the non Touch Bar model is anything to go by, we may be able to put in a bigger drive ourselves.
 
Queen6 said:
Well now Phil has his "record breaking" online orders, Apple may have woken up to it`s customers needs to some extents :rolleyes:

Only way to exert change with Apple is to vote with your wallet, as it`s the only thing Apple understands from it`s customers in 2016.

Q-6
Click to expand...

I did. I bought an iMac instead. They will never know why - and it will likely never be in their stats. But who knows - if they see a spike in orders for iMacs around now - it might dawn on them that people opted to put their $ somewhere else.
 
FreshBoy said:
Yeah because the Microsoft surface book is a beautiful looking machine...
Click to expand...
What's that got to with it?

But for examples of where the rest of the world can manage to fit in a few legacy ports, in a slim premium package (often at a lower cost), HP, Dell & Lenovo manage it, as do Asus.... and since you mentioned it first, the Surface Book is pretty good looking
 
For me a much bigger concern is that none of the Apple-Adapters is currently compatible with the Macbook Pro and 4K@60H

This adapter allows you to mirror your MacBook or MacBook Pro display to your HDMI-enabled TV or display in up to 1080p at 60Hz or UHD (3840 by 2160) at 30Hz.​
 
Aloft085 said:
This is a great first step. However, I still need to see a more reasonable price on the new MBP's before I can purchase. My retina MBP 15" was priced at $2000, which itself was still very expensive, but I could rationalize the hefty price with the inclusion of a retina screen and SSD. Now those two components have been on the market for years and have dropped in price significantly.

What new technology does the new MBP include that justifies a $400 price increase? The touch bar is maybe worth $100 to us, but it's mostly gimmicky. The switch to USB-C may have cost Apple money, but it makes the product less useable for us, at least for the next 1-2 years. The normal specs have all gone up on the MBP, yes, but that's how things work as component prices drop.

As someone who is not yet wealthy, I can't rationalize a $2400 starting price for the 15". My current 15" has taken a beating and is making strange noises (maybe the fan?), but at this price point I'll have to try to repair it rather than replace it. I'm not the anticapitalist sort, but I can see no justification for this price increase other than Apple trying to squeeze every dollar they can from us. If this continues, I'm going to explore my options with Windows products.
Click to expand...

Try ElementaryOS for Linux. It's a Mac Clone & it works great.
 
This almost feels like an insult. My guess is that the USB-c to lightning might be the most popular choice and they discounted it $6? If someone felt like they are over charging the new Pro's, would a $6 discount really make them feel better about buying?

It's the same with the older models maintaining the same price. If people think the new Pro's are too expensive, they might decide to go with the older models sitting in inventory so Apple decided to keep the older models at the same price to maintain higher profits.
 
The straw that broke the camel's back for me was the exclusion of at least 1 USB-A adapter with the new MBP. Very upset with Apple for not taking care of its customers in this transition phase. Pure greed to keep up the margins. Penny wise, pound foolish there, Apple.
 
baryon said:
Adapters are usually optional, but the strange thing is that 100% of people who buy the new machines will at least need a USB-C to USB-A adapter. It's like a car manufacturer charging extra for the wheels. This isn't an "extra" that you can get away without, you absoutely need these if you bought this machine.

Sure, not everyone needs HDMI, not everyone uses SD cards, not everyone uses Thunderbolt or Ethernet. Those used to be built into computers, but now they've become optional, because most people who buy a "pro" machine only use it for non-pro activities and never need these ports. It's like if Ferrari reduced the power of their cars because "those who buy our cars aren't racers anyway, they just want a shiny car, it's not meant for *actual* racing even though we continue to market them as such".

But everyone uses USB. I get that they removed it for the future benefit of USB-C, but today everyone still uses USB, and will continue to use it for a few years at least. So the adapter is compulsory. Just like the iPhone 7 includes the jack adapter because it's almost the only way to listen to music, the new MacBook Pro should include the USB-A adapter because every peripheral uses it.

If you get a MacBook Pro and never come across anything that requires an adapter for the entire life of the machine, then an iPad would have been more suitable for you anyway. It's arrogant of Apple to pretend that this computer can even be used at all without any adapters.
Click to expand...
I think they should have included one of the adapters in the box, just like they did with the headphone adapter. The funny thing is, they could have charged $9 more for the computer, but people wouldn't feel like they were being "nickeled and dimed" after spending thousands on a laptop. Being upset about a missing port isn't as bad as feeling like you are being taken advantage of. It is a psychological difference.
 
"We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition. We want to help them move to the latest technology and peripherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem. Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple's USB-C adapters and cables."
​
Really? So everything NOT USB-C is now "legacy"? Exactly how will this help me move photos from my professional, state of the art SD Card based camera to my "Pro" computer for editing?
 
johndoh said:
"We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition. We want to help them move to the latest technology and peripherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem. Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple's USB-C adapters and cables."
​
Really? So everything NOT USB-C is now "legacy"? Exactly how will this help me move photos from my professional, state of the art SD Card based camera to my "Pro" computer for editing?
Click to expand...
Theoretically, there will be card readers that can take advantage of the thunderbolt 3 speeds. So, it will eventually help you move big files faster. It won't be more convenient than popping in a card, but there is an argument of speed over convenience. If you only care about convenience a wifi alternative is probably closer to that ideal. I use CF cards, which are faster than SD, so there has never been a great "pro" solution for moving photos from my "pro" camera to my "pro" computer other than a card reader.

That being said, it would have been nice to have that port for extra storage that would not have required a drive hanging on by a cable.
 
Not impressed. The issue isn't reducing the cost of dongles by $5 to $10. It's the ridiculous inconvenience of waiting in line to buy adapters that should be included with a $1500+ "pro" machine that chooses to do away with necessary ports.
 
Last edited:
"We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition. We want to help them move to the latest technology andperipherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem. Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple's USB-C adapters and cables."

Even the wording of this rubs me the wrong way. They should have included the USB adapter and they know it so then they say, now we want to help you by reducing it $6.00 for me that just rubs me the wrong way. It's like there not admitting they should have included it but saying now we want to help you. It's like there belittling the customer. It's like they didn't make it standard but if you really want it we can help you make it easier by reducing it $6.00 when it should have been free. It's so ironic that it's a brand new Apple device that you can't even connect your iPhone to unless you buy an adapter. It makes no sense.
 
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