Earlier this week, I outlined three reasons for agreeing with Mark Gurman that the Apple price increases could be imminent, and that indeed proved to be the case.
iPhones have escaped the increases, but they are otherwise both broad-reaching and pretty dramatic. But perhaps the most surprising thing is that the MacBook Neo has been included …
Tim Cook revealed that price increases were on the way but gave no clue at the time when they might take effect. Some assumed that he was preparing the ground for increased prices at the iPhone launch in September, but there were good reasons to expect them to happen much sooner than that.
The increases include the MacBook range:
- MacBook Neo: Up $100
- MacBook Air: Up $200
- MacBook Pro: Up $300
Apple says that the new pricing was unavoidable, and that’s certainly the case if the company wishes to retain its margins, as it clearly does. The size of some of the increases has taken many by surprise, but the single biggest surprise in my view is the increase to the MacBook Neo.
The key selling point of Apple’s latest MacBook was the incredibly appealing price point of $599. It was this more than anything which got Windows PC makers panicking and made switching to Mac for the first time irresistible to many. It’s still solid value at $699, but it’s interesting that Apple is willing to so quickly compromise the one factor that generated so many headlines for the new machine.
As for those other surprises, these include the Apple TV 4 now starting at $199, the HomePod going up to $349, and the base iPad jumping a full $100 from $349 to $449.
What do you personally find most surprising? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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