Kasper JadeBack in April, AppleInsider reported that the Mac maker, determined to grow its share of the personal computer market during the worst economic backdrop in its corporate history, was gearing up to introduce more affordable versions of both its MacBook and iMac computers.
Roughly six week later at its annual developers conference, the Cupertino-based company announced price cuts of between $100 - $300 on its 13- to 17-inch unibody aluminum notebooks, all of which are now dubbed MacBook Pros.
iMacs were just recently refreshed in March but will see another update by fall, at which time they'll also be repositioned as more affordable offerings. Apple is reportedly mulling similar 7% - 10% price reductions alongside the introduction of those models, people familiar with the company's thinking say.
Thus far, Apple's move towards more affordable notebooks appears to be paying dividends. Citing market sources in Taiwan, DigiTimes reported Friday that Quanta this month is ">picking up momentum in its notebook shipments "due to increasing orders from Apple."
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209 Comments
The iMac is already quite reasonable, the Mac Pro has the sticker shock.
Seems for the time being Apple can afford to give a little on price. As the economy gradually recovers (which is aonyone's guess as to when), expect prices to freeze or slowly climb.
Apple deals in margins, and that won't change anytime soon. But they're looking to have a good Christmas in light of the economic conditions, so it's understandable.
More affordable Macs with Snow Leopard. Seems alright to me . . .
(I've got my eye on a Macbook Air, myself, or a tablet if they'll ever announce one.)
The iMac is already quite reasonable, the Mac Pro has the sticker shock.
AnandTech has been doing some major testing and deconstructing of the Nehelam Mac Pros. I thought the article was going to be released yesterday but it?s looking like week is more likely. Hopefully he details why the price has changed so much.
I know a price drop of the Mac mini is rather unlikely, but is there any chance they receive an update before the end of this year? I am travelling to Hong Kong in December and hopefully pick one up there.
It always seems bizarre to me that Apple updates their 'school' line (namely iMac's) in late September or October. To me, it seems to make more sense to do it late August/early September, you know, when people are buying things for school.