Apple Slashes MacBook Prices by up to $200 | Hacker News Reader

Apple Slashes MacBook Prices by up to $200

cnbc.com

43 pointscodegeek53 comments

This is a fairly yawn-inducing story.

Congratulations, Apple, the most profitable company in the computing sector, announced an 11% discount on a high end laptop.

Should we have an article when Dell bumps fifty bucks off an Inspiron laptop, too?

Not earth-shattering news, but significant considering Apple's steadfast resistance to price drops historically. Apple has very rarely dropped prices on anything, choosing always to replace it with a newer model at the same price.

Apple moving something away from a long-standing pricepoint is, IMO, noteworthy.

Though in this case, perhaps inevitable - the retina pricepoint was never sustainable.

Retina macbooks don't have a long-standing pricepoint.

When was the last time Apple actually dropped prices on an existing model (perhaps with speedbump) rather than e.g. introducing a new one that happens to be cheaper?

Maybe I'm forgetting, but I think the last time may have been the original iPhone, which went from $600 to $400 and angered a lot of early purchasers.

On June 11, 2012, Apple lowered the price of the base model Mac Pro, from $2899 to $2499. It increased the RAM from 3GB to 6Gb, but that was all.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_pro/specs/mac-pro-...

Duh, I should have thought of the Mac Pro. That last "bump" was notoriously bad, but I didn't realize the price had dropped too.

Any others?

None as recent, but here's one more:

On October 14, 2008, Apple lowered the price of the base model MacBook, from $1099 to $999. It upgraded the Combo Drive to a SuperDrive, but that was all.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-...

So yeah, it's pretty rare for Apple to lower prices on existing Mac models.

This was inevitable, regardless of how Mac sales are doing. The classic MacBook Pro design has no place in 2014's lineup, and you've got to get a $1700 laptop to a $1200 price point somehow.

If they do phase out the non-retina MBPs, that means none of Apple's laptops will have ethernet ports. On a "pro" machine, for the sake of shaving off a millimeter or two.

High-resolution displays are great, but Apple's fetish for thinness is causing some unfortunate side effects.

Thunderbolt to GigE adapter is only $20 or so. I don't consider the reduction in thinness in exchange for the removal of a port I rarely use to be that unfortunate.

At least for $29 you can get the Thunderbolt-GigE adapter, I keep one attached to the patch cable in my bag.

I appreciate the speed and flexibility of TB and think it will pick up momentum as more and more people end up with ultraportables and other thin machines.

There's the thunderbolt-GigE adapter. Or alternatively, you can carry one of these for all your peripheral needs:

http://www.belkin.com/us/thunderbolt

Another side effect is the lack of Kensington lock slots on the Retina and Airs.

This really bothered me when I found out. I was in a coffee ship working and was forced to pack up my back every time I needed to use the bathroom. The two solutions out there, one from kensington and the macbracket, are poor substitutes for having a kensington slot.

Maybe your usage has outgrown camping out in coffee shops...

huh?

The Thunderbolt adapter is, what, $30? I don't see a compelling need for this to be built in.

"Apple also missed Wall Street's revenue forecast for the third straight quarter..."

Maybe Wall Street has no idea what they're talking about. Record revenue? Not good enough. Apple needs to work on managing expectations better.

What makes people think that Apple gives a damn about Wall St.?

In other news, Mother Nature again missed TV Weather Presenter estimates and is under extreme pressure to hit tomorrow's call for sunny skies.

Because 68% institutional ownership and <0% inside ownership means that they are owned by Wall St, literally and figuratively.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AAPL+Major+Holders

And are these estimates coming from the major holders? No, they are coming from brokers and analysts. "Wall Street" is several different things, and conflating them in this case does nobody any good.

If and when Al Gore holds a press conference and tells Tim Cook what he wants Apple to do, we can talk about the shareholders running the company. But some snot-nosed analyst writing a research report estimating sales or material costs or whatever is not the same thing as owning the company and directing its activities.

> And are these estimates coming from the major holders? No, they are coming from brokers and analysts.

That is correct, and if the OP had asked a different question, then that would be a good answer.

Institutional ownership does not mean what you think it means. Pension funds are not Wall St.

Yes, Folks like Calpers sometimes differ in opinions. But rarely do they take the opposite viewpoint.

Because Wall St. owns the company. That's one of those crazy side effects of going public.

This is wrong. "Wall Street Estimates" don't come from hedge funds with large positions in AAPL, they come from companies that make up estimates in order to drum up business buying or selling AAPL on behalf of their so-called clients.

Having opened their yaps and sold the stock to someone on the basis of their own estimates, they are reluctant to say, "We goofed," so they encourage a climate of believing that they are in charge and it's Apple's fault when Apple hit or exceed Apple's estimates while so-called missing their estimates.

If what you say is true, you ought to be able to sue Apple for missing Wall Street's estimates. Tim Cook clearly isn't listening to his bosses and has stolen money from you as an investor who disregarded Apple's guidance and instead went with Wall Street's guidance.

Looking at the value of AAPL we can see that this is not the case.

For us, sure. I don't have time to get into the details of AAPL and why I may or may not want to buy them. I honestly don't have any idea if it's a good buy. However, it's 67% inst. owned and I'm willing to bet that every single instituion that owns stock has its own person who is crunching numbers and assesing value. The fact that the big spenders are fighting with each other to sell it instead of buy it means it's more than just "goofed" estimates.

Fidelity, vanguard and state street are the biggest owners of AAPL and are not known for short-term thinking.

"Slashes?" ...

That's only 6% of what my MacBook Pro (Retina, 16GB, SSD) cost (after the educational discount was applied). When I read "slashes, I'm thinking at least a 20-30% price reduction!

At the Apple Store for Education, the base model retina MacBook Pro was priced at $1599. As of today, that model costs $1399. That's a 13% price reduction.

http://store.apple.com/us-hed/browse/home/shop_mac/family/ma...

Can anyone spell out the differences between the mac book air 13 inch (assuming I max the cpu and hd) and mac book pro retina 13 difference?

MacBook Air: thinner, lighter, comes with a 1440x900 workspace.

MacBook Pro: retina resolution display with IPS, faster processor (uses standard mobile Intel processors rather than low-power processors). It comes with a 1280x800 workspace by default, but since it's a retina display you can make the workspace larger without losing too much detail.

The MacBook Air is great for mobility if you need the absolute thinnest and lightest. The MacBook Pro's IPS display is going to have much better viewing angles and the processor speed will be marginally better. If I were purchasing, I would go for the MacBook Pro. It comes with 8GB of RAM by default (I'd have to add $100 for that with the Air), I like IPS displays, and I don't think I'd mind the scaling for a larger workspace (since things like text don't see degradation). The drop in price means that the price difference is $200 (assuming 8GB of RAM in each).

15" retina sports a default res of 1440x900

Macbook pro retina resolution is 2560x1600

That's the panel's native resolution. The (default) effective resolution is only 1280x800 though, just with much more detail. You can configure it of course.

In other words, the Macbook Air's 1400x900 will have smaller UI element rendering and more desktop "workspace" than the out-of-box experience with 13" MBPr.

You have to install special software to enable that mode, and it's far too small for most even slightly older adults (farsightedness).

The MBP retina has a higher resolution, and also has two Thunderbolt ports (on the same side as the power, which is nice if you have a Thunderbolt Display with the combined power and Thunderbolt cable). Also HDMI output and SD card slot on the opposite side. The top-end CPU is a bit speedier as well.

It is also a bit heavier, and is not tapered (which I find aesthetically appealing).

http://www.apple.com/why-mac/compare/notebooks.html

Probably just the disk drive.

MBA-style?

That doesn't seem like a good sign.

Can you say Samsung?

If I had any money I'd be short on Apple stock.

Google Nexus ($350) and Samsung Series laptops (max $1,500 for 17") are Apple killers on the rise.

For similarly spec'd hardware, Apple is quite expensive. I guess you do get OS X and iTunes...wait, there should be a price reduction just for enduring their presence ;-)

Sold my spinning beach ball iMac and bought a PC again. Sure Windows blows, I know, but what can you do? I mean it's not like there's an alternative to the corporate OS box...or wait, what's this I see here, something called Linux: Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu,...maybe I'll give Linux a shot.

Apple isn't much different than M$ when it comes down to it, highly restrictive, although the bling factor is pretty high, nice looking gear.

Ahhh, karma accrued and lost, the perils of taking a contra-Apple stance.

Sorry, ditching Apple's BSD for a "real" Linux distro ranks as the 2nd best developer decision I have ever made (the 1st being switching from Windows to Apple).

To put in perspective, just picked up a Dell Precision Series M4700: 3840QM K2000 2GB graphics 16GB (could go 32GB if I ever need it) 256GB SSD 256GB mSata bluetooth, webcam, backlit, etc. $1,700

Comparable MBP would be at least $3K, no? Picked up a pair of Skullcandy Aviators, Google Nexus phone, North Face laptop bag and I still have a grand to go before I get to MBP price tag.

Shit, guess I'll use the remaining grand to get my flight to France, spring surf season just about to begin ;-0

You're so right. With Dell, you get twice the computer for half the price:

Dell Precision Series M4700

Height: 1.29" to 1.44" / Width: 14.80" / Depth: 10.08" / "Target Starting weight": 6.33 lbs

Apple MacBook Pro 15"

Height: 0.71" / Width: 14.13" / Depth: 9.73" / Weight: 4.46 lbs

I disagree here: It is cheaper, but you can't sell it 2-3 years later for anything other than a couple hundred bucks.

You can CL a used MBP for a considerable portion of it's purchase price 2-4 years later.

If you're unwilling to sell your old MBP, the Dell may very well be a better deal.

Please reread my post. There was a joke in there somewhere.

I missed, I was aiming at your parent

Also,

MBP: 2880x1800 Dell: 1920x1080

I've got a 23" LG monitor that I travel with (6.5lbs) which it just so happens is 1920 X 1080 -- plenty for coding.

You're right. The Dell is better.

Interesting google searches: Apple "macbook pro loud fans 2013" Lenovo "W530 fan noise intolerable"

In the end you can't (yet) stick a quad core CPU with a high end graphics card into a small chassis with a single cooling source, the technology just isn't there yet -- the thing will run hot, and as a result the lightweight airplane will periodically attempt to achieve lift off ;-)

The Dell will of course run hot as well when under load, but the cooling system is superior, the net effect being a quieter work environment (compiling from source is a noisy affair), which is far more important to me than anything the MBP offers.

Indeed, and dual fans to keep quad core CPU and GPU cool. MBP roasts under load, no? ;-)

I disagree here: It is cheaper, but you can't sell it 2-3 years later for anything other than a couple hundred bucks. You can CL a used MBP for a considerable portion of its purchase price 2-4 years later.

If you're unwilling to sell your old MBP, the Dell may very well be a better deal.

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