Apple has reduced the price on the base model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display by $200; at the same time, the company is updating the laptop with faster processors.
The 15-inch model will also be improved, but the price will remain the same. The 13-inch MacBook Pro will now start at $1,499 for 128GB of SSD flash storage, and the 256GB model will cost $1,699 . The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display will remain at $2,199 but will now come with a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor versus the original 2.3GHz processor.
For $2,799, you can get a 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD flash storage.
Apple has also dropped the price of the 13-inch MacBook Air. A 256GB flash storage model will now cost $1,399, $100 less than its original price.
According to The Washington Post , tech analysts have speculated Apple products will cut into each other’s sales in a trend known as “cannibalization.” For example, the iPad Mini has taken sales away from the iPad, and both have cut into the sale of MacBooks. However, CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that the “halo effect” will prevent too much cannibalization, although he did acknowledge that the iPad has taken a chunk out of the sale of MacBooks.
The price drop also comes at a time that Apple is lagging behind Amazon in terms of consumer respect . Apple, which was the most respected company last year, dropped to second place this year. Google, which was in second place last year, fell to fourth place behind Disney. In fifth place was Johnson & Johnson.
The price changes are already reflected on Apple’s website and in Apple Stores.
Will you be buying a new MacBook now that the price has been cut?