New MacBook Pros are Cheaper, Faster, Pro-er
Now they all have a flash memory card slot and non-removable seven-hour battery.
Today is Apple’s big day with its Worldwide Developer Conference and it’s newness for the entire unibody MacBook line.
It seems that Apple has taken Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters message to heart and has cut prices for all of its unibody MacBooks across the board.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1699 as opposed to the $1999 it was previously. The entry-level model has a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of DDR3.
The 17-inch now starts at $2499, down from $2799, with a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of DDR3.
The top model MacBook Air gets a massive price cut of $700 down to $1,799. It comes with a 2.13 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB of DDR3 and a 128 GB SSD.
Curiously, Apple has decided to include the 13-inch MacBook now as part of its MacBook Pro line, as it’s sharing so many of the same characteristics. The 13-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1199 and comes standard with a backlit keyboard, Firewire 800 and a 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo and 2 GB of DDR3. This will place the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro now ahead of the recently refreshed polycarbonate white MacBook.
All of the unibody MacBooks inherit the ‘built-in’ battery design that was introduced earlier this year in the 17-inch model. Apple boasts that the new design lasts three-times longer than removable batteries with its 1,000 recharges. Battery life also jumps by two hours for a total of seven hours across the board.
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While PC notebook and even netbook users have enjoyed this feature for years, the new MacBook Pros will finally get a flash memory card slot. The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros will get an SD card slot while the 17-inch will get an ExpressCard slot.
So in summary:
- All unibody MacBooks are now Pros, including the 13-inch model (except the Air)
- All MacBook Pros have flash card readers
- All MacBook Pros have the built-in seven-hour battery
Also, Apple really needs to do something about that glossy glass screen. Hopefully the 17-inch’s option of a matte display will also trickle down, even though Apple didn’t make any mention regarding the screen.
While MacBook Pros are more affordable and attractive than ever, it’s still a premium product that won’t shake the image that Macs are expensive.
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Spanky Deluxe I'm very tempted to get the 2.8GHz 15" model depending on how the pricing is geared here in the UK.Reply -
rsud Lets get it started!...Reply
I can't wait for winhead dispondents. Sucks to be second class, eh? I'll take my sleek sexy ergonomic macbook with light up apple logo over a cheap crudy plastic "glitzy for morons" windoze notebook anyday. Sorry you don't make enough to afford something good. Go shop at walmart you winmorons. -
Tindytim This is just amazing, Apple cuts prices by hundreds of dollars and somehow, they're still overpriced.Reply
Calling what was previously the Macbook, a Macbook Pro seems silly to me. I mean, they all have remedial video solutions, but at least the pro's had dedicated cards for "serious" work. Lumping a laptop with solely integrated seems silly to me.
rsudLets get it started!...I can't wait for winhead dispondents. Sucks to be second class, eh? I'll take my sleek sexy ergonomic macbook with light up apple logo over a cheap crudy plastic "glitzy for morons" windoze notebook anyday. Sorry you don't make enough to afford something good. Go shop at walmart you winmorons.Lol, yeah, because people don't buy Macs because they're poor.
Last I checked, I couldn't get a Tri or Guad Crossfire/SLI setup from Apple, or even get a GTX 295. Just because you can get buy on remedial hardware doesn't mean everyone else can, or would even want to. I'd much rather spend ~2k on a machine that was gobble down anything I throw at for breakfast, rather than intergrated video, a 2Ghz processor, and a hunk of aluminum and shiny plastic. -
Spanky Deluxe For such a well engineered product, the price really isn't that bad - especially when you factor in the one thing commenters on this site always seem to forget - resale value. Macs hold their value a hell of a lot better than generic laptops, even broken ones command a premium.Reply -
chripuck rsudLets get it started!...I can't wait for winhead dispondents. Sucks to be second class, eh? I'll take my sleek sexy ergonomic macbook with light up apple logo over a cheap crudy plastic "glitzy for morons" windoze notebook anyday. Sorry you don't make enough to afford something good. Go shop at walmart you winmorons.Reply
Ha, many of us HAVE money because we didn't waste it on a Mac. And no, just because I dont own a Mac doesn't mean I can't. I have a friend who makes 1/3rd what I do, loves his new $3000 mac pro desktop and is complaining about money problems. Meanwhile, I built my own, with very similar specs, in a very sexy and sleek Antec Sonata Elite case and did it for 1/3rd the cost. Who's the chump now? -
fuser spanky deluxeFor such a well engineered product, the price really isn't that bad - especially when you factor in the one thing commenters on this site always seem to forget - resale value. Macs hold their value a hell of a lot better than generic laptops, even broken ones command a premium.They hold resale value ... unless Apple reduces price by $1000 the following year.Reply
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Hanin33 rsudLets get it started!...I can't wait for winhead dispondents. Sucks to be second class, eh? I'll take my sleek sexy ergonomic macbook with light up apple logo over a cheap crudy plastic "glitzy for morons" windoze notebook anyday. Sorry you don't make enough to afford something good. Go shop at walmart you winmorons.Reply
dunno why you'd parrot the idea that a 'windoze notebook' is somehow different from your precious macbook since they use the same kind of hardware and can run the same software... they're PCs... if your comment wasn't such an obvious troll we could help you spend even more money, which you seem to like, with non-apple hardware that will blow the doors off apple hardware and still run your precious OSX... next! -
chaohsiangchen Laptop price from Apple Inc. simply don't make sense.Reply
The price of laptops is U-shaped depending on monitor size. The smaller, or the bigger, the more expensive it will be. The cheapest price point for laptops are 15.4". Due to overproduction of LCD panels, 16" and 17" price are coming down recently.
Kill@dorI don't have anything against Apple and Macbooks except...the PRICE!!!
Couldn't put it better myself, except that I do hate Apple Inc.