Don't assume that even most Leave voters are particularly enamoured of the EU. That would be a huge mistake. Most Brits, upwards of 90%, find the EU irritating. If it weren't for all the economic scare stories, I suspect many more people would have voted out.
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Weak Pound and Hiked Prices Make Apple Macs More Expensive for Brits
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The mid tier option also has a slightly faster Intel CPU with better Iris Graphics. Intel wants to get paid and Apple adds it's 40% plus VAT. The mid tier was always some $200-300 more expensive than the entry level. But this time the entry level doesn't get the nice Touch Bar. It's like the fancy dual-cameras in the 7+. Under Tim Cook the real innovation only comes to the pricier models, which were always out of range for most people.
Yep, the pound was (over)due for a rebalancing, Brexit just gave the excuse for it to happen at this time, it was going to happen anyway. It's just easy and fashionable to blame all bad news on Brexit, and all good news is labelled "despite brexit"
The Egyptian pound is due for devaluation, most currency bureaus have stopped trading it, no doubt when that happens brexit will be to blame.
Great comment.
I agree that the value of the old systems is down and therefore the prices should be down also.
Taking away SD slots (I use that for Time Machine and transferring video) and blessed Magsafe is just demented. Yes, I get that Apple create products that create the future, but they are going too far away from today's realities.
The EU is about the only developed, or developing, nation in the world that has such sluggish growth and is more about managed decline. Europeans think they can rest on the laurels of the post-war boom that created the large, affluent middle class and enjoy a lazy, cosy existence without having to do too much. You can see this lackadaisical attitude in the chorus of crying/moaning/sneering remainiacs who seem to think touching one's forelock before a waste-of-space €500k a year bureaucrat is how societies progress. It's not.
Brexit Britain will be an absolute freaking tiger of an economy in a few years, more like Singapore than moribund Italy or France. Even our high VAT is largely the fault of the EU so maybe next time Apple refreshed the lineup the sticker shock won't be quite so bad.
Brexit Britain will be an absolute freaking tiger of an economy in a few years, more like Singapore than moribund Italy or France. Even our high VAT is largely the fault of the EU so maybe next time Apple refreshed the lineup the sticker shock won't be quite so bad.
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Yes, you're quite right. Apple have lost touch on todays reality.
The education sector will look at alternatives with prices like this. Not to mention the drama it will cause when every kid needs an adapter to plug in their Usb drive, camera, network port etc etc etc.
When I work onsite at schools, there hasn't been a day where teacher/students aren't coming into the IT office asking for a spare adapter. It's becoming a joke.
Well from these 5 pages of comments, one thing is becoming very clear: Apple is DOOMED! 
(I've always wanted to write this, of course they are not doomed)
(I've always wanted to write this
, of course they are not doomed)This is just the start for the UK after they voted to leave.
Still can't believe it got voted in.
Being an Aussie, i'm use to the extra $$$$ on everything thing imported.
It's time for the UK to get use to it, i wouldn't be surprised if the next model is 30% dearer.
It's a global world, and if you currently is worth less then you pay more if you have to import.
this isn't Apples fault, blame the people that voted "YES"
Still can't believe it got voted in.
Being an Aussie, i'm use to the extra $$$$ on everything thing imported.
It's time for the UK to get use to it, i wouldn't be surprised if the next model is 30% dearer.
It's a global world, and if you currently is worth less then you pay more if you have to import.
this isn't Apples fault, blame the people that voted "YES"
In the past 12 months the Pound has lost 25% of its value vs. the dollar. In the previous 6 years before that it hadn't really varied by more than a few percent for any significant period of time. I'm sure they adjusted prices when the Pound last had a major adjustment - when it lost 30% of its value in ~6 months in 2008-09.
Well as my previous comments in this threat demonstrate, I voted Brexit, but I don't entirely agree with your comment. The EU should be congratulated for ensuring peace in Western Europe for more than half a century, for enshrining workers', consumers' and human rights, and for important cross-border science and cultural projects.
The problem, though, as you indicate, is that there is a substantial tension between those who see the EU as a bastion of peace and prosperity through shared trade (from which consistency of standards and employee rights stem), and those who see the EU as a preliminary to a United States of Europe, an authentic supra-national state.
The structural problem with the Euro currency was a lack of true political and fiscal union, meaning each country has different economies and monetary levers that provide uneven success for the Euro project, leaving countries like the UK and Germany to bail out poorer, mainly southern, neighbours. It remains to be seen how the EU will cope with another economic crash such as we had in 2008: some are very pessimistic about whether the EU has learned any lessons from that time and the Italian, French, and Portuguese economies (among others) are fragile, with high unemployment (unlike in the UK, where employment is at an all-time high).
As to the UK, yes we have spent most of our incredible history outside the EU, and we will find ways of thriving: if we become a "tiger" economy, then so much the better, but this was always a great deal more about sovereignty. We fought for such rights of self-determination even before Magna Carta in the 1200s. It's nothing new or surprising about our little island.
cant wait for the new iMacs and next years iPhone... iMacs will Start at 3999$ and iPhone at just 1499$ I don't expect something different. Sad to see Apple became so greedy and at the same time offering crippled products.
I don't expect something different. Sad to see Apple became so greedy and at the same time offering crippled products.
Nevermind, it's your right to leave the EU. That's not the problem.
See! This is the attitude (of some not all) Brits I'm talking about. Because of people like him, I'm not sympathetic with £ shoppers. He's trash talking the continent he's living in and the very union of which London became the financial center.
And because the future prospects are so bright and predictable the £ is rising against all other currencies, right? Who knows maybe someday we will envy British Mac prices with their super low VAT, but that day is not today.
Did you miss this?
How is it profiteering when it's simply an exchange rate adjustment and the legally-required, UK-government controlled tax on top?
This is something a lot of people don't understand. However, let's look at just sticker price.
A 14" Dell Latitude 7000 with specs bumped up to get closer to what Apple offers is about $1600 (after a 30% off coupon/discount). A Lenovo T460s with specs in the range of a MacBook Pro (weaker processor and graphics; slower SSD [bust still one of the faster ones]) is also about $1600 (after a discount). Let's say those are going to match the 13" MacBook Pro and we'll upgrade the MacBook Pro to have 16 GB RAM. That 13" costs just under $2100.
Neither the Dell nor the Lenovo have build quality as good as Apple but we'll ignore that for this exercise. So $500 more for the MacBook Pro laptop. The Dell includes a 3 year warranty vs 1 for the MacBook Pro but Dell's support is not as good as Apple's. Dell's reliability is also not as good as Apple's. With build, fit and finish, and screen quality differences, we'll wash out the warranty difference (just as a cost analysis).
What does that $500 more get you? A better screen, OS X (which might be a negative for some people but you can install Windows on the MacBook Pro if you want), a Touch Bar (maybe not worth it to someone), probably lower support costs over time (see the post about IBM's analysis of costs), and resale value.
Let's say someone buys the Dell for $1600 and uses it for 3 years. We'll be generous and say he sells it for $400 (that's a stretch and this ignores the costs of selling [e.g., eBay fees]). Total cost of ownership (ignoring non-warranty support costs during the 3 years) is $1200. Now someone buys a MacBook Pro for $2100, uses it for 3 years, and sells it for $750 (that's being conservative just to make a point). Total cost is $1350. If we add in Applecare, that's an additional $180 (education/corporate prices). If you use the laptops for 4 years instead of 3, the Windows laptop might sell for $150 (if at all) and the MacBook Pro will sell for $650-$700. In this case you come out ahead with Apple.
It's not as simple as this but when you compare high end (business/enterprise) computers running Windows to typical high end Apple laptops, at worst the Apple laptop costs $300 more over time. This is pure cost and not cost-benefit.
I've been tracking retail and resale values of laptops for years. Whenever I price out whether or not it's worth purchasing a Mac or a computer running Windows, Macs always come out even or ahead. This is ignoring all the "free" software that Macs come with that Windows computers don't. This is also ignoring the superior trackpad and screens that Macs have. No computer running Windows comes close to screen and trackpad quality, except for ones priced as much as or more than Apple laptops.
Yes, Apple products are priced high but you purchase design and quality with that money. If you don't need a high-end laptop or computer then don't buy a Mac. If you want/need a Mac but balk at the upfront cost, remember that it's only part of the story. More than any other computer (ignoring utility), a Mac is an investment (meaning they depreciate in value much more slowly than Windows PCs do).
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The UK is one of the most ethnically diverse in the world, and not just in London, and is generally extremely tolerant of foreigners, who visit Britain in droves (and are evidently risking their lives to travel over to UK shores).
Unbridled immigration, and overwhelmed systems that could not accurately track incomers, was one of the key motivators of the Brexit decision, and not least because the EU continually ignored our concerns about immigration and the pressure on civic and health services (something, pace Merkel, many towns in Germany are now experiencing).
More than that, Brexit was about returning full parliamentary sovereignty to Westminster and the devolved administrations, not about "Little Englander" racism, which is a shibboleth used by the Remain camp to make Brexiteers sound like monosyllabic ape men.
Oh how some Remainers dislike democracy! The irony is gigantic.
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The EU allowed London to become preeminent? London become the financial centre because of the changes instituted by Thatcher in the 1980s, which moved the stock exchange to a computerised trading system, opened up international ownership, and got rid of the old boys' network, taking us into the modern world. Only New York rivals London now. The idea that London should be grateful to the EU negates the political and economic changes made by the Westminster government that liberalised the market. This was little to do with the EU itself (which was still the EEC in the 1980s).
As to being a part of the continent: we are an island. Politically, we will soon cease to be tied to the EU on that front also.
As to judging our bright future based on today's currency movements, I think you will need to have a more long-term vision for the UK. The pound was due for a correction regardless of Brexit. Today's currency situation does not provide a barrier to a bright future.
I also remind you that other countries have also witnessed price rises for Apple products, so stop blaming Brexit.
I would encourage you to read more about Britain, Brexit and our history before your bitterness towards the UK becomes entrenched. Many Brits have respect for Germany. Even during the world wars, English soldiers respected the Germans far more than they respected the French: despite the French being on our side.
Ethnically, the Germans and the English are closely allied: not for nothing are we Anglo-Saxons and not for nothing did our monarchy for the last two hundred years speak German. Do not hate the Brexiteers. If Germany was not the most influential country in the EU, I suspect there would be greater call for independence in Germany also.
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This isn't Apple's fault, the problem with products sold in a global market is that they have to be similar.
If Apple didn't raise the price in the UK to reflect what they get for a US brought rMBP.
Then for those living in the States would jump online and buy it from the UK.
As an Aussie, i have seen the AUD been close to 50 cents to the US and for a short time worth more than the greenback.
It's not fair and its annoying when a product becomes more expensive than the previous model... but its the way it is.
There is only so much you can hedge.
No I didn't, but watch those who did vote leave start to complain. Oh the irony
Sorry to hear that, now you get to suffer for the stupidity of the lot.
There is nothing false about it actually.
The Pound has lost 25% of it's value against Dollar and Euro.
it's natural Apple and others need to adjust their prices according to Pounds weakness.otherwise it means loss (or 25% less profit) for them.
the UK consumer as a result have to pay 25% more for EVERYTHING imported.
That's Brexit for you.
Apple has increased the prices of new MBPs globally, but the UK folks have to pay an additional 25% on top on that and everything else as a result of Pound loosing value.(including all older models and other products).
this price increases WILL happen to pretty much EVERYTHING not just Apple products.unfortunatelly.
Complain about the prices as much as you want, they surely are prohibitive for schools, but don't complain about USB-C when the situation with USB-A, USB-B, Mini-A, Mini-B, Micro-A, Micro-B, USB-A-3.0, USB-B-3.0, Micro-A-3.0, Micro-B-3.0 isn't any better. And that's just universal ports, when it comes to single purpose ports, oh my god. The PC world has no better solution than moving everything to USB-C and abandoning all other ports.
You are right, it just hurts when you didn't vote that way.
I get some satisfaction from the fact that they got a huge tax bill from the Irish though, small comfort but still