Apple has raised the price of the MacBook Pro again, but lowered the price of the Mac mini

Apple raised the price of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Pro / M2 Pro Max chip, but significantly reduced the price of the Mac mini.

This is a rare enough occurrence to report. If you want to treat yourself to the new, more powerful Mac mini that Apple just made official, it’ll cost you €100… less!

With component shortages affecting the sector and the appreciation of the dollar against the euro, the apple brand has made a habit of revising all its prices, even those already available, upwards. iPhone 14 thus he shot himself in the foot by coming up with some interesting innovations sending emergency messages via satellite Where accident detectionbut more expensive than 110 euros iPhone 13 it was only slightly worse in terms of power.

iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max they now start at €1,329 and €1,479 respectively, while their predecessors were introduced at €1,159 and €1,259 respectively. Similarly, the iPad, iPad Pro, Apple Watch and others have seen their prices increase rapidly against a new design, some improvements and features (except for the Apple Watch Ultra, which opens up a new range).

Increases in cunning

Apple is used to frequent price increases from one innovation to another (with the exception of the iPhone 12 and 13 ranges), but also made adjustments since last year. The previously released AirPods or iPhone SE have seen the bill start to rise again last fall. In June 2022 Macbook Air with the old design and the M1 chip, which will go on sale at the end of 2020, it was slyly bought for 70 euros (from 1,129 euros to 1,179 euros), while Tim Cook introduced the new model. MacBook Air with M2 chip.

Like its competitors in all markets, all apple products are experiencing price increases due to the cost of components. The deficit is likely to decrease, spending will be restrained for a slowing PC market, and price increases should now more closely track global inflation.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the new MacBook Pro 14 and 16 inches, whose main innovation is the arrival of a new chip, still requires an increase of at least 150 euros for the MacBook Pro 14-inch version with the M2 Pro chip (from 2249). up to 2379 euros). That’s nothing compared to the expected extra €250 for the entry-level 16-inch model. It will cost even 300 euros more to get the version equipped with the M2 Max chip. The updated feature is priceless.

It should also be noted that excessive power is no longer limited to a large-format computer. The 14-inch model can now also benefit from the M2 Max chip. On the other hand, forget the idea of ​​using the cheaper previous versions, they disappeared from the official Apple catalog.

Mac mini as a leader

The Mac mini remains a rarity. The California compact has long been favored by users for its ability to support several stacked units, such as additional storage spaces, and the reduced size was in its favor. Then it gradually disappeared from Apple’s thinking. Again in a whiff of sanctity, but not necessarily in terms of sales, it benefits from a definite boost until then, with the option to equip it with an M2 or M2 Pro chip versus a plain M1 chip. There is no M2 Max to wait for, because then it will be more powerful than the compact (but larger) very high-end Mac Studio, which will be introduced by Apple in the spring of 2022 and can be configured with an M1 Max or an M1 chip Ultra. , which is still more efficient than the M2 chip and can compete with or even surpass the M2 Pro (and the maximum price too – from 2300 euros).

Lowering the price of the base configuration of the Mac mini (M2 chip, 256 GB of memory) is also useful for attracting new users who might be tempted by the Studio Display, Apple’s external display, which has had a rocky start despite certain qualities. The price to buy a Mac mini in the M2 Pro version goes up (1,549 euros for 512 GB of storage and more power). Apple may be enough of a loss leader here to push a product that’s been missing for desktops and cut for remote work with minimal bulk but high performance.