While Apple is touting the new MacBook Pros as a major evolution of the laptop, the internet is in open revolt over the cost of the new machines.
The new MacBook Pros will set you back at least $200 more than last year’s models, and sometimes much more.
The top-of-the-line 15-inch MacBook Pro, for example, costs an eye-popping $4,299 — without tax, and with no preinstalled software.
Prices are even worse in Europe and Asia, where potential buyers are wondering if it would be cheaper to fly to the U.S. to buy a new machine than get one at home.
Apple has always had a reputation for high prices, but in general the company holds prices steady between product generations. This year’s iPhones and iPads cost generally the same as last year’s — and years before. Big price hikes between generations generally prove rare. Which is why the prices of the latest MacBook Pros caused immediate complaints unseen in recent memory.
On Reddit, there’s a long thread devoted just to pricing that already runs to hundreds of comments. Reddit users complain bitterly about the additional cost of the new machines.
There’s open revolt that the cheapest MacBook Pro now starts at $1,500 instead of $1,300. And that is for a machine without the innovative new Touch Bar — the major new feature.
The cheapest machine with the Touch Bar costs $1,799, which is a lot of money for a supposed entry-level laptop. Meanwhile, the base 15-inch model, an entry-level laptop for a pro user, is a $2,300 model with only 256GB of storage. By comparison, last year’s 15-inch MacBook Pro is $300 cheaper at $1,999.
Prices are even higher in Europe. The MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar is 1,700 euros, or $1,853. One Reddit user estimated the machine they’d like to buy costs $5,340 (it runs $3,999 in the United States).
Overall, the high prices cast a gloomy cloud over the new machines, which otherwise are getting a good reception.
https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/791720032753557506
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander is an expert on:
Apple and Apple history
Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and Apple leadership
Apple community
iPhone and iOS
iPad and iPadOS
Mac and macOS
Apple Watch and watchOS
Apple TV and tvOS
AirPods
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
