Apple Macbook specs bump & price drops

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/13/...-with-retina-display-price-cut-new-processor/

13" Retina slashed to $1499/$1699
15" Retina bumped to 2.4/2.7GHz
256gb 13" MBA slashed to $1399

Apple announced today that the price of its entry-level 13-inch 128GB MacBook Pro with Retina display has been cut to $1,499. Meanwhile, the model above (with a new 2.6GHz processor and 256GB of space) has been priced at $1,699. The bigger 15-inch MacBook Pros with Retina display, will also get their processors bumped up to 2.4GHz and 2.7GHz, respectively, while MacBook Air shoppers might want to make their purchase today, as the 256GB 13-inch MacBook Air has also been discounted to $1,399. All the new models (and prices) will be available starting today.
 
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TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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256GB Air you mean.

And with that price cut the 13" rMBP just became more appealing, especially once it gets Haswell.
 

Pia

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So, Airs remain the only machine in the lineup that is actually good value. The 13" Retina price is now in the realm of reasonable, although it never deserved the Pro name and should be called Air instead. The CPU bump on the 15" Retina amounts to nothing, but the machine is still without good competition so it deserves to be expensive.

No one should be buying any of these before Haswell, though, unless they really need it now.
 

JackBurton

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So, Airs remain the only machine in the lineup that is actually good value. The 13" Retina price is now in the realm of reasonable, although it never deserved the Pro name and should be called Air instead. The CPU bump on the 15" Retina amounts to nothing, but the machine is still without good competition so it deserves to be expensive.

No one should be buying any of these before Haswell, though, unless they really need it now.

I can't wait for Haswell. A Haswell MBP equipped with 802.11ac would be the perfect machine for me.
 

Ashenor

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May 9, 2012
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When will the new models be expected to roll out? Been thinking about a MBA or MBP 13", really just want to dual boot it to run windows and MTGO on it.
 

Wreckem

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When will the new models be expected to roll out? Been thinking about a MBA or MBP 13", really just want to dual boot it to run windows and MTGO on it.

Late Summer/Fall. Normally Apple updates their laptops in March, but Haswell for desktops and laptops has been pushed back to June, while Haswell for ultrabooks has been moved up to June. It usually takes apple a couple months longer than their PC counterparts to get their new to market. I am sure they are going to try and time it for back to school season.
 
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TheStu

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Late Summer/Fall. Normally Apple updates their laptops in March, but Haswell for desktops and laptops has been pushed back to June, while Haswell for ultrabooks has been moved up to June. It usually takes apple a couple months longer than their PC counterparts to get their new to market. I am sure they are going to try and time it for back to school season.

Actually, at any number of times in the past Apple has been on the bleeding edge of intel's release schedule. The beat the rest of the market by a couple of months with Penryn and the 8600, and the OG MacBook Air was a custom design by intel for Apple.

They kind of oscillate, there's no hard and fast rule about anything that they do.
 

crab0

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Jun 7, 2012
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The price drop on the 13inch Retina almost makes me want to sell my Air, but unfortunately *knock on wood* its lasted over a year without much issue (power adapter aside). Usually my ultraportables die after the 1 year warranty is up.
 

Kaido

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Feb 14, 2004
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A Haswell-equipped Retina Air would be epic!
 

Tegeril

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Do we know the differing model numbers on the rMBP CPUs? What actually changed besides clock speed?
 

Wreckem

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Sep 23, 2006
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Actually, at any number of times in the past Apple has been on the bleeding edge of intel's release schedule. The beat the rest of the market by a couple of months with Penryn and the 8600, and the OG MacBook Air was a custom design by intel for Apple.

They kind of oscillate, there's no hard and fast rule about anything that they do.

How long did it take for them to adopt Sandy Bridge? Ivy Bridge? I doubt Haswell will be any different.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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How long did it take for them to adopt Sandy Bridge? Ivy Bridge? I doubt Haswell will be any different.

Like I said, it oscillates. A few years ago, when they first switched to intel, they were one of the first with the Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo in mobile. The first with a few series of Xeons as well, even if they have let the Mac Pro languish. Some things they adopt quick, others slow.
 

Ashenor

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May 9, 2012
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Late Summer/Fall. Normally Apple updates their laptops in March, but Haswell for desktops and laptops has been pushed back to June, while Haswell for ultrabooks has been moved up to June. It usually takes apple a couple months longer than their PC counterparts to get their new to market. I am sure they are going to try and time it for back to school season.

After further review ordering a Asus Zen Book UX32vd since it has discrete graphics.
 

Syrome

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Oct 15, 2012
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Hi guys. So after seeing the updated Price points and spec changes, is it worth it to grab the 15in Retina 2.7 with the school discount for a grand total of 2,600? Or just wait another 6 months for Haswell? From my understanding, Haswell will have the biggest impact in the 13 inch because the 13 inch has no discrete GPU. But the 15 inch seems like to wont benefit from it that much because maybe power consumption and battery life. Please shed some info on this because I am interested in purchasing just trying to find when the best time to buy is.