In a surprise move that upend Apple’s approach to its laptops, the upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are expected to come with similar specifications that will deliver the same levels of power. But with this leak on Apple’s processor choices comes the sticker shock. Be prepared to pay a lot more for your new MacBook Pro.
Apple MacBook computers are on display during the grand opening of the company’s new store, Apple … [+]
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Noted YouTuber Luke Miani, who continues to seek out the best prices for reconditioned Apple hardware, has been analysing the leaks around the pricing of the upcoming MacBook Pro laptops.
The starting point is the current pricing structure. The base M1 MacBook Air is priced at $99 for the lowest specced model (typically the one used in marketing, after all it is the lowest). The M1 MacBook Pro is a small step up form the MacBook Air primarily down to better thermal control around the same Apple Silicon system on chip; this starts at $1299.
The current 16-inch MacBook Pro, albeit an Intel-powered laptop, starts at $2399, while the higher tier of MacBook Pro starts at $1799. The lower tier Intel hardware was replaced with the M1 MacBook Pro, and the obvious call would be the next MacBook Pro laptops would take the place of the smaller $1799 and larger $2399 laptops.
Into that mix though is that news on Apple’s processor choice… to keep the two new MacBook Pro models using the same presumptively-named M1X system on chip, something that is going to make the 14-inch MacBook Pro an incredibly powerful laptop if it stays at the same $1799 price point. Throw in the new design, the larger screen, and presumably increased base memory and storage options (16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, compared to the 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage on the M1 MacBook Pro) and you have a machine that pretty much kills the current M1 MacBook Pro.
You have the MacBook Air at the $999 price. The low-end MacBook Pro offers a little bit more performance, but the general rule of thumb since the launch last year is that the MacBook Air offers everything that most general consumers need.
While some would bump to the 13-inch MacBook Pro for the small amount of power, it was a marginal gain. then, Now you have to ask why you would look at a marginal gain when the 14-inch MacBook Pro is going to blow it away in the power argument? It might be sticking with the same price, but by neutering the entry-level MacBook Pro, Apple is pulling that part of the user base up a step in the pricing ladder.
The price stays the same but with more people buying the new MacBook Pro laptops will be a welcome addition to Apple’s pricey portfolio.
Is your bank balance ready for the release of the new MacBook Pro? What exciting features from the world of Windows 10 will Apple introduce? And perhaps you might want to wait for the radical redesign being planned.
We’ll find out all that and more when the new laptops are launched.
Now read more about the potential launch date of the new MacBook Pro laptops…
