In a surprise move, Apple on Friday cut the prices on a number of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 accessories and peripherals, looking to assuage complaints from new or prospective MacBook Pro buyers.
The discounts range between 20 and 40 percent, and cover a number of first- and third-party products sold at Apple's online and retail stores, TechCrunch reported, confirming the change with Apple. Normal prices will resume in January.
"We recognize that many users, especially pros, rely on legacy connectors to get work done today and they face a transition," the company said in a statement. "We want to help them move to the latest technology and peripherals, as well as accelerate the growth of this new ecosystem. Through the end of the year, we are reducing prices on all USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals we sell, as well as the prices on Apple's USB-C adapters and cables."
All of the new MacBook Pro models use combination USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, meaning that many legacy add-ons are no longer compatible without an adapter. They even omit an SD card slot, potentially creating problems for people shooting photos and video.
The computers continue to have 3.5-millimeter headphone jacks, even though Apple talked about the "courage" needed to remove the technology from the iPhone 7 at a Sept. 7 press event.