Apple Slaps Up to 10% Price Increase on Built-to-Order Mac Configurations in Many Countries

[MacRumors]

Sometime during all the launch hype of last week's new MacBook Air and iPad Pro, Apple quietly increased the prices of almost all Mac build-to-order options on its regional online stores outside the United States.

In Canada, Europe, Australia, and many parts of Asia, customers configuring any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro or Mac mini now face paying approximately 10 percent more for each component upgrade than they did prior to last Wednesday.

In the U.K. for example, when customizing a base configuration 2.3GHz 8-Core 16-inch MacBook Pro, upgrading to a 2.4GHz processor costs £200, where previously it cost £180.

Likewise, jumping from 16GB to 32GB of RAM now costs £400 (previously £360), bumping the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M GPU from 4GB to 8GB costs £100 (previously £90), and upgrading from 1TB storage to 2TB costs £400 (formerly £360).

Altogether, the hikes add an extra £110 to the price tag of this built-to-order 16-inch MacBook Pro - a combined total of £3,899 rather than £3,789.

16-inch MacBook Pro BTO prices - March 16 compared to March 23​

Apple didn't change the standard prices of its Mac base configurations, which is probably why the changes initially went under the radar. However, two eagle-eyed readers from the U.K. got in touch with MacRumors after the total cost of their custom Mac configs, which had been languishing in their online Apple Store bags for a time, suddenly changed overnight.

It's not clear what provoked Apple to raise BTO Mac prices for consumers outside the U.S., although fluctuations in exchange rates, supply constraints, and labor shortages can't be ruled out. Either way, the fact remains that processor, RAM, graphics, and storage upgrades selected during checkout cost around 10 percent more than they did this time last week.

(Thanks, Andy and Glen!)

Article Link: Apple Slaps Up to 10% Price Increase on Built-to-Order Mac Configurations in Many Countries

 

[bladerunner2000]

Not enough profits for the trillion dollar company.

 

[jameswilby]

Sure this is a decision made for many reason, more than we know... but not sure it’ll help sell more products in a time when sales are already tanking

 

[ImperialForces]

This is disturbing. We can only hope they don’t stick with these kind of business practices and this isn’t successful enough to become precedent.

 

[MoreRumors?]

Shhhh, it suppose to be quite 🤫. Now the cat is out of the bag 🤫

 

[DeepIn2U]

Not enough profits for the trillion dollar company.

Definitely shady!

Direct response to the industry having a 78% drop in February for loss of smartphone sales.

 

[imran5720]

Hopefullly they will drop prices again after corona issue

 

[Plutonius]

Not enough profits for the trillion dollar company.

I think that it's one of the many reactions to Covid-19.

I think that BTO computers are more difficult and expensive to build now (lack of resources).

It will be interesting to see if Apple reverts this pricing change after the pandemic is over ?

 

[DeepIn2U]

Sure this is a decision made for many reason, more than we know... but not sure it’ll help sell more products in a time when sales are already tanking

mmm-nah.

No other reasons than to boot dropping revenue/profits due to current crisis/pandemic. If Apple were to ask their loyal customers to donate their efforts to purchase and distribute masks to front line medical care persons ... none of us would bat an eyelash. There is no extra cost to place higher ram, storage on a motherboard before the lower end spec items are placed.

 

[cambookpro]

Even as a Brit, I'm not too surprised about this. GBP to USD has dropped at least 10% since the introduction of the 16". Probably not helped by COVID and USD being a relative safe haven.

After 20% VAT, we're actually paying (slightly) less than the USA for base models at the moment (although it really doesn't feel like it).

 

[citysnaps]

BREAKING: Sometimes companies need to raise prices.

The good news is people have choices. Don't like the increase? Reward another company with your currency and purchase their products instead.

 

[canesalato]

I guess one reason might be to discourage built-to-order (reducing demand) and divert sales to stock models. This could be important in this moment where keeping enough inventory of a variety of products might be harder. Just speculating.

 

[renai-spirit]

The exchange rate between the US$ and A$ alone has nosedived over the past 3 months, almost 20% down. Not surprised there's a been price adjustment.

 

[TheralSadurns]

My CTO configuration got € 100 more expensive. But this includes changes to:

• 2.4GHz CPU Core i9
• 64 GB RAM
• Radeon 5500M w/ 8 GB VRAM
• 2 TB SSD

With the total jumping from € 4,979 to € 5,079. Annoying, yes. But considering the price of the machine... it more or less makes no real difference.

German Store btw.

 

[foozipper]

No, Asia. in Japan price down 10%.

https://applech2.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Mac-Pro-2019-init-spec-and-cto-202003.jpg

 

[RogerWilco]

A tip of the hat to Tim Apple — get ahead of the curve, never let a helicopter-money check go to waste. I predict their next move will be a claim of corporate poverty as they stand (at a social distance of course) in the line for federal bail-outs.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Custom configurations: the magic of having exactly what you want brought to you as as only Apple could.

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

On the upside this has solidified my decision to switch back to PC. The BTO prices from Apple are quite frankly insulting. If you can honestly defend this you need to have a good hard look at what the prices for the components cost from literally anyone else. Apple RAM has nothing special about it and in the case of the Mac Pro it was shown to be downright bottom of the barrel stuff.

Even as a Brit, I'm not too surprised about this. GBP to USD has dropped at least 10% since the introduction of the 16". Probably not helped by COVID and USD being a relative safe haven.

After 20% VAT, we're actually paying (slightly) less than the USA for base models at the moment (although it really doesn't feel like it).

Indeed, crying shame really seeing as how we don't have the high salaries of the US to make up for it. Average of $41k in the UK versus $65k in the US.

 

[patzistar]

I truly hoped they would drop prices to increase the sales in this crisis, but well, I couldn't be more wrong.

 

[sturek]

BREAKING: Sometimes companies need to raise prices.

The good news is people have choices. Don't like the increase? Reward another company with your currency and purchase their products instead.

that's crazy talk I say!!

 

[citysnaps]

Indeed, crying shame really seeing as how we don't have the high salaries of the US to make up for it. Average of $41k in the UK versus $65k in the US.

Should Apple simply absorb the loss due to the recent UK-US currency devaluation (a 10% hit since the beginning of March)?

 

[SW3029]

Relax everyone. Apple isn't price gouging or being greedy. They are responding to the collapse of foreign currencies like the UK pound, euro, yen, etc. All those currencies have been pummeled in the last 2 weeks as forex traders rush to the US dollar for security.

As currencies collapse against the dollar, products and parts naturally become more expensive overseas as almost all imports into countries are conducted in dollars and not the local currency.

This is a normal price change completely expected with the plummeting forex market.

So. Just. Chill. with the greed and conspiracy theories mkay?

Virtually every other company that relies on importing products across national borders will be rising prices soon in those countries if they haven't already.

As for why BTO prices have risen in the countries and not prices of standard configs, it's because stores and warehouses in those countries are already stocked with the standard config models – they were imported into the country BEFORE the forex collapse. BTO models are, as the name suggests, built to order in overseas factories and then STILL need to be imported under the higher costs due to the fall in international forex.

If foreign currencies stay depressed against the US dollar, Apple will eventually need to raise prices of standard config Macs in foreign countries too because those will need to be imported at the now higher prices into those countries when the existing stock in those countries run out.

 

[nebo1ss]

Even as a Brit, I'm not too surprised about this. GBP to USD has dropped at least 10% since the introduction of the 16". Probably not helped by COVID and USD being a relative safe haven.

After 20% VAT, we're actually paying (slightly) less than the USA for base models at the moment (although it really doesn't feel like it).

If this was the reason then all product prices would have been increased and it would not have been done under the radar.

 

[cloudyo]

I am 100% sure, Apple will not drop the prices, once the exchange rates for foreign currencies change in the other direction

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

Omg, I love this article title! =)
Apple “slaps”....
More stories need to start with those 2 words. 😂