I am still trying to make up my mind. So, I have decided to believe in hard numbers.
Here are some reasons why I think the
12" Macbook and the Touch-Bar-Less 13" rMBP will receive a price cut in the near future. Let's say, the next 9 months, or at WWDC 2017
Remember the base Late 2008 Unibody Macbook 13"? Priced at
$1,299
- No Backlit Keyboard. Weak 2.0GHz CPU (History now repeats itself). Removable battery. Actually a worse a quality display compared to later models (I disassembled a few of them)
- 8 months or so later, became the "Macbook Pro" priced at $1,199, Backlit keyboard in all models, received longer battery life thanks to non-removable battery, SD Card slot and a faster 2.26GHz CPU.
Now, I'm not saying we are getting and SD card slot again or any of these upgrades, but it serves as good example.
Here are some more:
Remember the Early 2009 17" Macbook Pro? Was priced at whopping
$2,799.
- Had a weak 2.66GHz C2D CPU for some reason in the base configuration
- 4-5 months later, received a $300 price cut and a 2.8GHz CPU that was finally up to par with the CTO 2.93GHz CPU from the Early 2009 model
- Then, in 2010 there was a base i5 model for $2,299 but then again in 2011 became priced at $2,499. Whatever
Remember the 2008 Macbook Air? Priced at
$1,799! You had to be crazy to buy one back then, unless you really didn't care. I call this computer the ultimate trap for "Early Adopters", or perhaps "
Unpaid Apple Beta Testers"
- 17 months later of its release, discounted at $1,499
- Another 17 months later or something, in Late 2010, a 11" model gets released priced at just $999. However, still bad time to buy. Mid 2011 models were superior on all levels
- Early 2014. Late but still, the 11" Macbook airs started at $899. Not bad
One last minor, but quite recent example. There was a base 15" rMBP in Mid-2012 starting at 2,199. In late 2013 the base model was $1,999.
Therefore, based on this info and how apple puts price tags on its
1st generation products, (The most recent example could be the Apple Watch) only to discount that product later when it becomes the second generation or when they just put new hardware in the same damn thing,
I HOPE for the following to happen:
--- The 13" rMBP base model will become priced at
$1,299, or even at
$1,199, becoming the true next Macbook Air 13" Replacement
--- Hopefully, the 12" Macbook will receive one Thunderbolt 3 port instead of just the USB-C, will start at
$999, becoming the next true replacement of the 11" Macbook Air.
--- The 13" models with touch bar should also receive a price cut, matching the prices from before
Now, I don't know about the 15" Models, but I would very much like to see a base model for
$1,999
So, that's my conclusion. That conclusion is also based on some feelings, so don't take my word for it. However, I am going to go ahead and listen to these feelings. I've seen too many people adopting too early. Don't forget this is basically a 1st gen product. Nobody paid you to test it. I hope there are enough reasonable people on this forum to not fall into this trap. Leave this "Beta Testing" job to clueless people.
I'm interested what you guys think, so I have created a small poll
