Apple reveals plans for cheaper new products in the pipeline

***AppleInsider*** · 10-19-2009, 06:03 PM

After announcing spectacular Q4 results, Apple's Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer explained to analysts that the company is projecting lower growth in future revenues and profit margins due to cheap new products in the company's pipeline.

"Greater value, lower gross margins"

In response to questions from Richard Gardner of CitiGroup asking "why gross margin should be down as much as you have it" in the company's future guidance, Oppenheimer answered, "we expect gross margin to decline about 34% primarily due to four factors.

"First," Oppenheimer said, were "new products we have and will announce, delivering greater value, lower gross margin than predecessors."

Oppenheimer later mentioned that Apple had already introduced products with "lower ASPs [average selling prices]," referencing new lower priced MacBooks that resulted in the company's notebook sales gobbling up a 74% share of all Mac sales.

Apple had also introduced its cheapest ever iPhone offering this summer, although Chief Operations Officer Tim Cook also noted, in response to a question about how the $99 iPhone 3G impacted sales of the new iPhone 3GS, that "the demand for the [iPhone] 3GS did exceed expectation; we quickly changed our orders for components." Cook added, "I think it shows there's an intense appetite for Apple's latest technology and we were very pleased with the result."

Other impacts on future profits

"Second," Oppenheimer said, "a seasonally higher mix of iPods" will push down margins and the company also expects "Snow Leopard box sales to be less."

Cook later said that, "the upgrade sales of Snow Leopard, which we include family and box sets, were more than double what we experienced from Leopard over the same 5-week sales period [following the release of each]. That was much more than we planned, very pleasantly surprised."

"Third," Oppenheimer said, the company expects to pay "significantly more air freight, while fourth, Apple anticipates having to face "higher component costs than September quarter."

Cook later explained that costs associated with "air freight is not related to the iPhone. Generally speaking, it's planned to get enough units into the channel in time for the holidays." He said that Apple expects freight costs to be "more than normal," adding that while "in general we spend more in freight in [holiday] Q1, but this increase is larger than usual. I'm sorry, I can't be specific on the product, but it's an abnormal sequential increase."

"Regarding revenue, as you know, the education and back-to-school seasons are over," Oppenheimer added. "The December quarter is typically driven by holiday purchases. Our guidance includes double-digit revenue growth from last year."

Apple trading premium margins for volume

The company's efforts to reach broader markets for its products rather than simply servicing existing customers with premium priced, high end alternatives to PCs and music players is not entirely new.

Apple has aggressively pushed down iPod prices to remain competitive with other vendors. For example, Apple has now undercut Microsoft's Zune offerings with lower priced alternatives for three years in a row.

The company also dropped the original iPhone's price so rapidly that it created a controversy resulting in rebates to early adopters, and followed up with the second generation iPhone 3G using cheaper construction materials to achieve an even lower price point.

Apple's latest MacBook introductions this summer scaled down prices dramatically while still delivering high end engineering features, and the company is expected to release significantly cheaper desktop Macs this fall in time for the holiday shopping season.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

digitalclips · 10-19-2009, 06:13 PM

The Tablet is coming!: LOL

MacApple21 · 10-19-2009, 06:14 PM

When they could make them better, price cuts are fine, but not if it means mediocre hardware

Keep the prices, at least for some products, do as you've done with the MacBook, and offer a cheap edition of the iMac, and then offer some, almost up to date, editions for those who will rather have a fast Mac than a cheap

Johnny Mozzarella · 10-19-2009, 06:15 PM

lower priced desktops and lower priced MacBook.

I hope the tablet is aggressively priced.
I want one.

DOSbox-gamer · 10-19-2009, 06:33 PM

Lower prices are all nice and good, but I'd rather pay the same price or or a little more, for a much more powerful system. (Quad-Core iMac or bust!)

bartfat · 10-19-2009, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacApple21

Keep the prices, at least for some products, do as you've done with the MacBook, and offer a cheap edition of the iMac

I never got why Apple didn't put the nVidia 9400M in the iMac. I'm sure that would lower the cost by at least 100.. then you stay with core 2 for the lower edition and quad core for the higher edition so you can shave another 100 off the price so the iMac is now an aluminum desktop under 1K! But then again, some people have said Apple doesn't do cheap...

KingKuei · 10-19-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bartfat

I never got why Apple didn't put the nVidia 9400M in the iMac. I'm sure that would lower the cost by at least 100.. then you stay with core 2 for the lower edition and quad core for the higher edition so you can shave another 100 off the price so the iMac is now an aluminum desktop under 1K! But then again, some people have said Apple doesn't do cheap...

Uh... but they DO use the 9400M in the iMac. It's part of the base model. If you're referring to the 9600GT discrete that is paired with the 9400M in some MBPs, the equivalent in the iMac would be the GT120 option, which is roughly the same silicon with a higher clock speed. But I don't see how changing up the graphics chips effectively brings the price down, because you could easily say go back to 17" screens, remove the iSight camera, make it out of cheaper plastic instead of aluminum, etc. etc. etc. The point is there's about a dozen things that COULD be done to bring the price down, but all of it is basically a compromise of some sort, one which Apple clearly does not feel it needs to make (it's earnings results are a testament).

The balancing act of design, performance, and cost is a tough one, but one in which I think Apple excels compared to its competitors. None of the individual components within the iMac or MBP are necessarily the absolute fastest, but if you take a step back and appreciate for a moment the total balance that Apple's achieved, it's quite remarkable. The PC world is littered with machines that tout the fastest quad-core CPUs, but then mate that to slow chipsets and weaker graphics relative to their super-fast CPU counterpart. I think Apple has done a good job of providing relatively quick overall performance, attractive design, and good value considering how long the average life span is on Macs.

For that reason, I actually take issue with AI's assertion that Apple's comment about lower gross margins and new products in the pipeline representing greater value necessarily means cheaper products. Earlier this year Apple claimed that it had lowered pricing on a number of product lines. But really, it wasn't that the price points had changed dramatically, but rather that for the SAME price point, Apple was giving you more computer. Yes, in a sense you could argue that Apple is now selling the higher end models at a cheaper price, but it really masks the fact that the cost of entry into the Mac world remains the same. I think Oppenheimer's comments more likely point to updated ("new") Macs that pack more compute power at the existing price points, hence the comment that the new products will provide more "value" as opposed to "lower/cheaper prices".

**Mr. H** · 10-19-2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bartfat

I never got why Apple didn't put the nVidia 9400M in the iMac.

The iMac does use the nVidia 9400M in the cheaper models.

See www.apple.com/imac/specs

monstrosity · 10-19-2009, 07:17 PM

new stuff is coming. for sure

BenRoethig · 10-19-2009, 07:21 PM

Lower prices to get more customers? I see the elitists freaking.

doyourownthing · 10-19-2009, 07:25 PM

new products

that's plural

where are all the tablet fans?

i don't believe in the tablet format...i think it will have to have a wow factor to it, don't know what it could be...

davesmall · 10-19-2009, 07:31 PM

Well we know for sure that new MacMini's are coming and new plastic MacBooks are coming. Those are both low end products and new models will surely boost sales.

A tablet is also likely. If they do have a new category product like the tablet it seems likely they'd try to get it into the Christmas shopping season if humanly possible. They're racing the clock on that one though so the comments about expenses for air shipments do fit.

I'm betting we'll see a new MacMini, MacBook, and iTablet very soon. A new iMac is also a likely possibility.

-AG- · 10-19-2009, 07:31 PM

Im not too fussed over the prices of the macs in general atm.

What i am fussed over though is the fact of the price difference between the US store and the AUS store being that the US$ is doing so badly.

currently (as posting this) the $ value is
United States Dollars Australia Dollars
1 USD = 1.07796 AUD 1 AUD = 0.927677 USD

BUT the price difference between buying off of the AU store compared to the US store is as follows

std spec:
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpmSuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)MacBook Pro 15-inch Antiglare Widescreen DisplayKeyboard,User's Guide,M96-AUSAppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

AU Price = A$ 6,427.99 or US$ 5,963.10

compared to

US Price = US$ 3,998.00 or AU$ 4,306.58

Thats a difference of over $2000 no matter which way you look at it.
(and these prices are before any educational discounts etc and include free shipping)

What happens when the AU$ reaches parity with the US$ (as estimated by Dec 09) or passes it and hits $1.10/US$ (as expected by march 10)

Maybe apple needs to implement a standard payment system across the board and use a pay-pal type system that allows the user to purchase over the net and pay in local currency. OR just chance the prices every fiscal 1/4 to match current trends in currency. (i'm all for making a profit but these are HUGE markups)

cwfrederick · 10-19-2009, 07:40 PM

I was also worried about apple abandoning its high margin, high value strategy. but I think that they realized with the iPhone that they can use low prices to get people in the door, and once they're there, they end up buying the better, more expensive version.

eAi · 10-19-2009, 07:41 PM

I'm hoping there's a mac mini upgrade soon, and hopefully a reduction in price here in the UK as it's currently over $100 more here (taking sales tax into account!)

FuturePastNow · 10-19-2009, 07:46 PM

Good.

Lower prices: Chop $100 off the Mac mini and white Macbook

Lower margins: Expensive 'Clarksfield' processors in the iMac and Macbook Pro

DJRumpy · 10-19-2009, 07:49 PM

I know Apple typically does it's product announcements in a very cyclic manner. Is there a targeted date that everyone expects they will announce these new offerings? Also, when is the latest iteration of the iPhone expected to be announced next year?

MacTel · 10-19-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monstrosity

new stuff is coming. for sure

The last product releases for 2009 will come tomorrow (iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini/AppleTV). I feel it in my bones.

Logic would say that Apple would hold out a week to let the media absorb this news but, on the other hand of logic, the holiday season is short and now is the time to release new product to blow out Q1 estimates.

geekdad · 10-19-2009, 08:01 PM

Qiote:
Apple trading premium margins for volume

The company's efforts to reach broader markets for its products rather than simply servicing existing customers with premium priced, high end alternatives to PCs and music players is not entirely new.

Apple has aggressively pushed down iPod prices to remain competitive with other vendors. For example, Apple has now undercut Microsoft's Zune offerings with lower priced alternatives for three years in a row.

The company also dropped the original iPhone's price so rapidly that it created a controversy resulting in rebates to early adopters, and followed up with the second generation iPhone 3G using cheaper construction materials to achieve an even lower price point.

Apple's latest MacBook introductions this summer scaled down prices dramatically while still delivering high end engineering features, and the company is expected to release significantly cheaper desktop Macs this fall in time for the holiday shopping season.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[/QUOTE]

Some of us have been saying this all along. Apple seems to be changing their long term strategy and going for a larger market share and the lower priced market as well.
I am really excited to see what new products and price cuts they will come up with for the Holiday season!

LouisTheXIV · 10-19-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -AG-

Im not too fussed over the prices of the macs in general atm.

What i am fussed over though is the fact of the price difference between the US store and the AUS store being that the US$ is doing so badly.

currently (as posting this) the $ value is
United States Dollars Australia Dollars
1 USD = 1.07796 AUD 1 AUD = 0.927677 USD

BUT the price difference between buying off of the AU store compared to the US store is as follows

std spec:
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpmSuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)MacBook Pro 15-inch Antiglare Widescreen DisplayKeyboard,User's Guide,M96-AUSAppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

AU Price = A$ 6,427.99 or US$ 5,963.10

compared to

US Price = US$ 3,998.00 or AU$ 4,306.58

Thats a difference of over $2000 no matter which way you look at it.
(and these prices are before any educational discounts etc and include free shipping)

What happens when the AU$ reaches parity with the US$ (as estimated by Dec 09) or passes it and hits $1.10/US$ (as expected by march 10)

Maybe apple needs to implement a standard payment system across the board and use a pay-pal type system that allows the user to purchase over the net and pay in local currency. OR just chance the prices every fiscal 1/4 to match current trends in currency. (i'm all for making a profit but these are HUGE markups)

But they do adjust prices. And in fact just a few months ago when the AUD was worth what 65 US cents Apple products sold in Australia were the cheapest in the world relative to the home US market. And so because the US dollar was so strong in the earlier part of the year Australian prices and UK prices were raised. So you can expect a price drop when Apple refreshes its products if the USD continues to be weak.

solipsism · 10-19-2009, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacTel

The last product releases for 2009 will come tomorrow (iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini/AppleTV). I feel it in my bones.

Logic would say that Apple would hold out a week to let the media absorb this news but, on the other hand of logic, the holiday season is short and now is the time to release new product to blow out Q1 estimates.

Do you think there will be a case/design change or just a spec bump with a potential price change, because typically Apple does have a Special Event for Macs for the holiday quarter with about 5 days notice to the media and does an event if there are any significant changes to their products.

With Win7 officially launching Thursday, would not be best to have there event a week or two from now?

juanm105 · 10-19-2009, 08:20 PM

That's my guess.

Apple introduces new products on Tuesday.

They usually have their financial conference calls on Wednesday, I thought, and I don't recall another one being held on a Monday.

So to me the thinking was report on financials on Monday so we can release the new products on Tuesday as usual.

It is late October and Christmas shopping starts earlier each year so if Apple is to introduce a new product it has to be NOW in order to sell products and get the revenue for the quarter.

Let's see what happens tomorrow!!

juanm105 · 10-19-2009, 08:25 PM

I should have added the other factor. Windows 7 comes out this week and Apple has to act NOW before Windows 7 hits the streets.

Figure that MS was planning to do a advertising campaign that noted their new greatest OS ever and on a less expensive platform than the Mac.

Apple introduces 2 or 3 new Machines tomorrow and turns the focus back onto the new inexpensive Macs and Snow Leopard and Windows 7 is dead in the water. (or perhaps floundering in the water).

Quote:

Originally Posted by juanm105

That's my guess.

Apple introduces new products on Tuesday.

They usually have their financial conference calls on Wednesday, I thought, and I don't recall another one being held on a Monday.

So to me the thinking was report on financials on Monday so we can release the new products on Tuesday as usual.

It is late October and Christmas shopping starts earlier each year so if Apple is to introduce a new product it has to be NOW in order to sell products and get the revenue for the quarter.

Let's see what happens tomorrow!!

teckstud · 10-19-2009, 08:31 PM

Do I hear "CHEAP"?

teckstud · 10-19-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juanm105

I should have added the other factor. Windows 7 comes out this week and Apple has to act NOW before Windows 7 hits the streets.

Figure that MS was planning to do a advertising campaign that noted their new greatest OS ever and on a less expensive platform than the Mac.

Apple introduces 2 or 3 new Machines tomorrow and turns the focus back onto the new inexpensive Macs and Snow Leopard and Windows 7 is dead in the water. (or perhaps floundering in the water).

Dead in Water? If you say so.

MacTel · 10-19-2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solipsism

Do you think there will be a case/design change or just a spec bump with a potential price change, because typically Apple does have a Special Event for Macs for the holiday quarter with about 5 days notice to the media and does an event if there are any significant changes to their products.

With Win7 officially launching Thursday, would not be best to have there event a week or two from now?

It's all about taking the air out of Microsoft's release of Windows 7. They'll make minor improvements (al beit nice ones) and lower the price points significantly. Notice what I said wasn't coming tomorrow - Macbooks. The new Macbook line will head out in 2010 in January.

samanjj · 10-19-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

Dead in Water? If you say so.

hopefully in the consumer market. if people upgrade to osx instead of win 7 in the non-business sphere that would be brilliant

xwiredtva · 10-19-2009, 09:15 PM

They are coming tomorrow...

xwiredtva · 10-19-2009, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samanjj

hopefully in the consumer market. if people upgrade to osx instead of win 7 in the non-business sphere that would be brilliant

Most smart business's won't upgrade to 7 for a while. IT Depts need to test it against current software, this generally takes 3-6months. The beauty of virtual machines.

xwiredtva · 10-19-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

Do I hear "CHEAP"?

Yep, you'll be able to buy a Mac with Windows installed! Comes with a Celeron Dual-Core, 4gb of ram, 1000000gb HD and GMA4500HD graphics for $499. Pretty sweet! I'm digging the 15.6" screen with it's 1376x768 HIGH Resolution to take advantage of the Dedicated GMA4500 GPU and it's 1024mb video memory! Not sure why it didn't come with Blue-Ray, FW, and it has a VGA port... Weird... It's neat they went back to tray loading superdrives too, it's fun to put potato chips on them (when ejected) and flick them into the air.

No seriously... Tomorrow.

Mario · 10-19-2009, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Lower prices to get more customers? I see the elitists freaking.

Some of us don't want that to happen not because of elitism, but because of the justified belief that Mac hardware and OS X eco system is so cohesive exactly because it is not so popular.

Once you reach the critical mass and where every Dick and Harry want to write software for it, breaking any semblance of UI and human interface guidelines, is the day OS X becomes what Windows is today. Developers for Mac OS X today are rare, and they have pride and joy in developing for the platform, sticking with certain code of conduct that keeps Mac software relatively free from bad behaved software and users are not afraid to download and try almost anything. This will definitely no longer be the case once the platform becomes too popular.

I think Apple is aware of this, and for the platform to stay true to "it just works" and "it's so easy to use" it has to stay relatively non-mainstream.

**melgross** · 10-19-2009, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teckstud

Do I hear "CHEAP"?

It depends on what's meant by cheap.

The perspective changes depending on whether you're looking at it from the PC end, or the Mac end.

Take Acer. Their average netbook sells for about $325.

But their "expensive", most popular machine other than netbooks, costs just $700.

I think of $700 as cheap for a laptop.

brucep · 10-19-2009, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

After announcing spectacular Q4 results, A ."

"Third," Oppenheimer said, the company expects to pay "significantly more air freight, while fourth, Apple anticipates having to face "higher component costs than September quarter."

Cook later explained that costs associated with "air freight is not related to the iPhone. Generally speaking, it's planned to get enough units into the channel in time for the holidays." He said that Apple expects freight costs to be "more than normal," adding that while "in general we spend more in freight in [holiday] Q1☺,☞ but this increase is larger than usual.☞☀
▼▼ I'm sorry, I can't be specific on the product, but it's an abnormal sequential increase.▼

l in time for the holiday shopping season.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

▼

▼▼NANOPHONE

carrier less

mark2005 · 10-19-2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacTel

The last product releases for 2009 will come tomorrow (iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Mini/AppleTV). I feel it in my bones.

Logic would say that Apple would hold out a week to let the media absorb this news but, on the other hand of logic, the holiday season is short and now is the time to release new product to blow out Q1 estimates.

It's either tomorrow or Wednesday. I think Apple held the intro until this week to blunt the Windows 7 intro on Thursday. Especially if there is a cheaper MacBook, new design iMacs, and a new touch input thingy for the iMac (see Daring Fireball).

mark2005 · 10-19-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melgross

It depends on what's meant by cheap.

The perspective changes depending on whether you're looking at it from the PC end, or the Mac end.

Take Acer. Their average netbook sells for about $325.

But their "expensive", most popular machine other than netbooks, costs just $700.

I think of $700 as cheap for a laptop.

Apple products seem cheaper, and yet the Mac ASP went from 1330 to 1380 for desktops, and 1254 to 1265 for laptops. The iPod ASP went from 146 to 154. And an analyst said that the iPhone ASP has gone up too.

People still want the more expensive stuff.

John.B · 10-19-2009, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -AG-

What i am fussed over though is the fact of the price difference between the US store and the AUS store being that the US$ is doing so badly.

Does Australia have VAT?

matejay · 10-19-2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John.B

Does Australia have VAT?

We have GST... 10% on top the sale price but the shops have to show the tax already included in the final price, not like the US Apple store where te tax depends on the State and will be shown only one you put in your ZIP code.

-AG- · 10-19-2009, 10:55 PM

And either way 10% GST is still no way near the difference between the 2 prices.

bugsnw · 10-19-2009, 11:11 PM

If Windows 7 comes out on Thursday, if I were Apple, I'd intro new hardware on Friday. Kinda like taking the wind out of their sails.

For those of us who predicted this shift in Apple's strategy, it's very relieving to see it come to fruition. We don't want to see drastic price cuts that lead to compromises in hardware and software design, but merely margin cuts that keep quality high and consumers buying.

Volume is powerful. Lower prices should stoke sales. Someone tell Obama to watch and learn how this works.

DaveGee · 10-19-2009, 11:37 PM

Wow.. nice news indeed!

Specific feelings about certain issues aside.. ATTA BOY GUYS! TOP NOTCH TOP NOTCH!

10-19-2009, 06:03 PM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,151	Apple says cheaper new products in the pipeline After announcing spectacular Q4 results, Apple's Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer explained to analysts that the company is projecting lower growth in future revenues and profit margins due to cheap new products in the company's pipeline. "Greater value, lower gross margins" In response to questions from Richard Gardner of CitiGroup asking "why gross margin should be down as much as you have it" in the company's future guidance, Oppenheimer answered, "we expect gross margin to decline about 34% primarily due to four factors. "First," Oppenheimer said, were "new products we have and will announce, delivering greater value, lower gross margin than predecessors." Oppenheimer later mentioned that Apple had already introduced products with "lower ASPs [average selling prices]," referencing new lower priced MacBooks that resulted in the company's notebook sales gobbling up a 74% share of all Mac sales. Apple had also introduced its cheapest ever iPhone offering this summer, although Chief Operations Officer Tim Cook also noted, in response to a question about how the $99 iPhone 3G impacted sales of the new iPhone 3GS, that "the demand for the [iPhone] 3GS did exceed expectation; we quickly changed our orders for components." Cook added, "I think it shows there's an intense appetite for Apple's latest technology and we were very pleased with the result." Other impacts on future profits "Second," Oppenheimer said, "a seasonally higher mix of iPods" will push down margins and the company also expects "Snow Leopard box sales to be less." Cook later said that, "the upgrade sales of Snow Leopard, which we include family and box sets, were more than double what we experienced from Leopard over the same 5-week sales period [following the release of each]. That was much more than we planned, very pleasantly surprised." "Third," Oppenheimer said, the company expects to pay "significantly more air freight, while fourth, Apple anticipates having to face "higher component costs than September quarter." Cook later explained that costs associated with "air freight is not related to the iPhone. Generally speaking, it's planned to get enough units into the channel in time for the holidays." He said that Apple expects freight costs to be "more than normal," adding that while "in general we spend more in freight in [holiday] Q1, but this increase is larger than usual. I'm sorry, I can't be specific on the product, but it's an abnormal sequential increase." "Regarding revenue, as you know, the education and back-to-school seasons are over," Oppenheimer added. "The December quarter is typically driven by holiday purchases. Our guidance includes double-digit revenue growth from last year." Apple trading premium margins for volume The company's efforts to reach broader markets for its products rather than simply servicing existing customers with premium priced, high end alternatives to PCs and music players is not entirely new. Apple has aggressively pushed down iPod prices to remain competitive with other vendors. For example, Apple has now undercut Microsoft's Zune offerings with lower priced alternatives for three years in a row. The company also dropped the original iPhone's price so rapidly that it created a controversy resulting in rebates to early adopters, and followed up with the second generation iPhone 3G using cheaper construction materials to achieve an even lower price point. Apple's latest MacBook introductions this summer scaled down prices dramatically while still delivering high end engineering features, and the company is expected to release significantly cheaper desktop Macs this fall in time for the holiday shopping season. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

10-19-2009, 06:13 PM	#2
digitalclips Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: South West Florida Posts: 1,584	The Tablet is coming!: LOL Used all Apples from Apple][ through 8 Core Mac Pro http://www.digitalclips.com

10-19-2009, 06:14 PM	#3
MacApple21 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Denmark Posts: 26	Why make things cheaper When they could make them better, price cuts are fine, but not if it means mediocre hardware Keep the prices, at least for some products, do as you've done with the MacBook, and offer a cheap edition of the iMac, and then offer some, almost up to date, editions for those who will rather have a fast Mac than a cheap

10-19-2009, 07:21 PM	#10
BenRoethig Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Dubuque, IA USA Posts: 2,400	Lower prices to get more customers? I see the elitists freaking. "Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking" -Steve Jobs. I guess he forgot to add "unless its mine."

10-19-2009, 07:31 PM	#12
davesmall Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Houston Posts: 29	What's coming Well we know for sure that new MacMini's are coming and new plastic MacBooks are coming. Those are both low end products and new models will surely boost sales. A tablet is also likely. If they do have a new category product like the tablet it seems likely they'd try to get it into the Christmas shopping season if humanly possible. They're racing the clock on that one though so the comments about expenses for air shipments do fit. I'm betting we'll see a new MacMini, MacBook, and iTablet very soon. A new iMac is also a likely possibility.

10-19-2009, 06:15 PM	#4
Johnny Mozzarella Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 955	lower priced desktops and lower priced MacBook. I hope the tablet is aggressively priced. I want one.

10-19-2009, 06:33 PM	#5
DOSbox-gamer Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 32	Lower prices are all nice and good, but I'd rather pay the same price or or a little more, for a much more powerful system. (Quad-Core iMac or bust!)

10-19-2009, 07:17 PM	#9
monstrosity Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: England Posts: 557	new stuff is coming. for sure

10-19-2009, 07:25 PM	#11
doyourownthing Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 142	new products that's plural where are all the tablet fans? i don't believe in the tablet format...i think it will have to have a wow factor to it, don't know what it could be...

10-19-2009, 07:31 PM	#13
-AG- Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 28	Im not too fussed over the prices of the macs in general atm. What i am fussed over though is the fact of the price difference between the US store and the AUS store being that the US$ is doing so badly. currently (as posting this) the $ value is United States Dollars Australia Dollars 1 USD = 1.07796 AUD 1 AUD = 0.927677 USD BUT the price difference between buying off of the AU store compared to the US store is as follows std spec: 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpmSuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)MacBook Pro 15-inch Antiglare Widescreen DisplayKeyboard,User's Guide,M96-AUSAppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll AU Price = A$ 6,427.99 or US$ 5,963.10 compared to US Price = US$ 3,998.00 or AU$ 4,306.58 Thats a difference of over $2000 no matter which way you look at it. (and these prices are before any educational discounts etc and include free shipping) What happens when the AU$ reaches parity with the US$ (as estimated by Dec 09) or passes it and hits $1.10/US$ (as expected by march 10) Maybe apple needs to implement a standard payment system across the board and use a pay-pal type system that allows the user to purchase over the net and pay in local currency. OR just chance the prices every fiscal 1/4 to match current trends in currency. (i'm all for making a profit but these are HUGE markups)

10-19-2009, 07:40 PM	#14
cwfrederick Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 44	I was also worried about apple abandoning its high margin, high value strategy. but I think that they realized with the iPhone that they can use low prices to get people in the door, and once they're there, they end up buying the better, more expensive version.

10-19-2009, 07:41 PM	#15
eAi Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 366	I'm hoping there's a mac mini upgrade soon, and hopefully a reduction in price here in the UK as it's currently over $100 more here (taking sales tax into account!)

10-19-2009, 07:46 PM	#16
FuturePastNow Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,437	Good. Lower prices: Chop $100 off the Mac mini and white Macbook Lower margins: Expensive 'Clarksfield' processors in the iMac and Macbook Pro

10-19-2009, 07:49 PM	#17
DJRumpy Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 317	When is the new product line due to be announced? I know Apple typically does it's product announcements in a very cyclic manner. Is there a targeted date that everyone expects they will announce these new offerings? Also, when is the latest iteration of the iPhone expected to be announced next year?

10-19-2009, 08:01 PM	#19
geekdad Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 87	Qiote: Apple trading premium margins for volume The company's efforts to reach broader markets for its products rather than simply servicing existing customers with premium priced, high end alternatives to PCs and music players is not entirely new. Apple has aggressively pushed down iPod prices to remain competitive with other vendors. For example, Apple has now undercut Microsoft's Zune offerings with lower priced alternatives for three years in a row. The company also dropped the original iPhone's price so rapidly that it created a controversy resulting in rebates to early adopters, and followed up with the second generation iPhone 3G using cheaper construction materials to achieve an even lower price point. Apple's latest MacBook introductions this summer scaled down prices dramatically while still delivering high end engineering features, and the company is expected to release significantly cheaper desktop Macs this fall in time for the holiday shopping season. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ] [/QUOTE] Some of us have been saying this all along. Apple seems to be changing their long term strategy and going for a larger market share and the lower priced market as well. I am really excited to see what new products and price cuts they will come up with for the Holiday season!

10-19-2009, 08:20 PM	#22
juanm105 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: New England Posts: 9	New products tomorrow That's my guess. Apple introduces new products on Tuesday. They usually have their financial conference calls on Wednesday, I thought, and I don't recall another one being held on a Monday. So to me the thinking was report on financials on Monday so we can release the new products on Tuesday as usual. It is late October and Christmas shopping starts earlier each year so if Apple is to introduce a new product it has to be NOW in order to sell products and get the revenue for the quarter. Let's see what happens tomorrow!!

10-19-2009, 08:31 PM	#24
teckstud Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 6,115	WHeN ALREADY? Do I hear "CHEAP"? Once you go Mac, you never go back!

10-19-2009, 09:15 PM	#28
xwiredtva Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 369	They are coming tomorrow...

10-19-2009, 10:55 PM	#38
-AG- Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 28	And either way 10% GST is still no way near the difference between the 2 prices.

10-19-2009, 11:11 PM	#39
bugsnw Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: WA state Posts: 110	If Windows 7 comes out on Thursday, if I were Apple, I'd intro new hardware on Friday. Kinda like taking the wind out of their sails. For those of us who predicted this shift in Apple's strategy, it's very relieving to see it come to fruition. We don't want to see drastic price cuts that lead to compromises in hardware and software design, but merely margin cuts that keep quality high and consumers buying. Volume is powerful. Lower prices should stoke sales. Someone tell Obama to watch and learn how this works.

10-19-2009, 11:37 PM	#40
DaveGee Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 2,070	Wow.. nice news indeed! Specific feelings about certain issues aside.. ATTA BOY GUYS! TOP NOTCH TOP NOTCH! Thank you for a funky time, call me up whenever you wanna grind...

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