Apple's Mac refresh includes universal drop in SSD upgrade prices

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited June 2020
Beyond updating the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, Apple on Tuesday also reduced the cost of SSD upgrades for all Macs, in some cases by as much as half.

2019 iMac


For high-end 15-inch MacBook Pros, 1-, 2-, and 4-terabyte upgrades are down to $200, $600, and $1,400 respectively. The 4-terabyte option previously cost $2,800, more than many whole systems.

With the MacBook Air, Apple has removed a 1.5-terabyte configuration, narrowing selections to 256 gigabytes, 512 gigabytes, and 1 terabyte. The latter two choices are $200 and $400.

Similar price cuts have reached the iMac, iMac Pro, and Mac mini. On a 27-inch iMac for example, 256-gigabyte, 512-gigabyte, and 1-terabyte options are $100, $300, and $500.

Apple has often been criticized as overpricing SSD upgrades beyond what they cost from third-party vendors, especially versus equivalents on Windows PCs.

The company's MacBook Pro upgrades include faster processors, and omnipresent Touch Bar, Touch ID, T2, and True Tone technology. The MacBook Air now starts at $1,099 for most shoppers and uses True Tone for its display. The 12-inch MacBook has vanished from sale, although third-party authorized resellers have limited inventory at up to $200 off.

For the latest deals on Apple products, be sure to visit the AppleInsider Price Guides, which are updated throughout the day.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    Yay! My condolences to the complainer contingent, one less thing to complain about. Though they are quite the resourceful bunch, I'm sure something else will be tapped to fill the gap soon.
    andrewj5790racerhomie3chiacornchipmagman1979StrangeDaysp-dogfastasleeplollivercurtis hannah
  • Reply 2 of 35
    caladaniancaladanian Posts: 380member
    Great news!
    magman1979p-dog
  • Reply 3 of 35
    imatimat Posts: 208member
    Just bought an iMac with SSD. Can I get a refund of the price difference (bought a week ago)?
    it’s a serious question. I know you can send it back if a new model comes out in two weeks after purchase. I wonder if it applies also to price reductions.
    sandorfastasleepcurtis hannahdoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 35
    andrewj5790andrewj5790 Posts: 296member
    imat said:
    Just bought an iMac with SSD. Can I get a refund of the price difference (bought a week ago)?
    it’s a serious question. I know you can send it back if a new model comes out in two weeks after purchase. I wonder if it applies also to price reductions.
    Return it and repurchase if they won’t do a simple refund. That’s what I would do. Some serious savings. 
    racerhomie3chia1STnTENDERBITSbigtdscornchipp-dogdysamoriafastasleepdtb200curtis hannah
  • Reply 5 of 35
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Wow, it looks like Apple really is trying to listen to their customers on the Mac side.

    It’s about time they started caring about the Mac again, perhaps they’ll manage to keep my business after all.
    80s_Apple_GuyAppleExposedviclauyycentropysdysamorialarz2112watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 35
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    imat said:
    Just bought an iMac with SSD. Can I get a refund of the price difference (bought a week ago)?
    it’s a serious question. I know you can send it back if a new model comes out in two weeks after purchase. I wonder if it applies also to price reductions.
    1) Of course you can send it back. The return policy has no contingency about whether a new machine has come within a 2 week timeframe from your purchase.

    2) Why ask here instead of contacting Apple about getting a refund? Call them up and politely ask. If they say no then tell them you'll return it and but it again and that you'd rather make it easier for all parties. I've never had an issue with a price reduction a week after purchase from any company.
    StrangeDaysdysamoriafastasleepFileMakerFellerlolliverdoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 35
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Probably has more to do with clearing out old inventory as newer models should be just around the corner.
    dysamoria
  • Reply 8 of 35
    elfig2012elfig2012 Posts: 63member
    NO price reductions on Apple site for IMac Pro memory expansion in europe....
  • Reply 9 of 35
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    This is the best Apple news I’ve read in a long time! By far my biggest and most persistent gripe about Apple is its pricing of Configure-To-Order options. Apple’s prices for RAM and storage upgrades have been a serious obstacle to buying in my world. A reduction here is both welcome and appropriate.
    entropyssandordysamorialarz2112doozydozenmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 35
    eugeeuge Posts: 19member
    imat said:
    Just bought an iMac with SSD. Can I get a refund of the price difference (bought a week ago)?
    it’s a serious question. I know you can send it back if a new model comes out in two weeks after purchase. I wonder if it applies also to price reductions.
    Apple retail policy is within 2 weeks you can either return the product, or you can get refunded the difference.
    dysamoriacurtis hannahdoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 35
    cintoscintos Posts: 113member
    "The latter two choices are $200 and $400" should read "the first two choices". I looked at the new Air on APple's site. Changing the default 128GB to 512 GB is a $400 option.... 1TB is $600.https://forums.appleinsider.com/entry/signin?Target=https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/07/09/apples-mac-refresh-includes-universal-drop-in-ssd-upgrade-prices
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 35
    mconwellmconwell Posts: 2member
    iMac 27" SSD offering and prices are different based on your config --

    iMac 27" SSD  low end:  256 = $100, 512 = 300, 1TB = 500
    iMac 27" SSD mid:  256 = $100, 512 = 300, 1TB = 500
    iMac 27" SSD high:  512 = 100, 1 TB = 300, 2TB = 700


    AppleExposedentropyscurtis hannahdoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 35
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    cintos said:
    "The latter two choices are $200 and $400" should read "the first two choices". I looked at the new Air on APple's site. Changing the default 128GB to 512 GB is a $400 option.... 1TB is $600.
    Depends on the starting point. The MacBook Air goes down to 128 GB, and the storage is the only difference between the two starting points.

    128 -> 256 => +$200
    256 -> 512 => +$200
    512 -> 1TB => +$200

    So the author started from the 256 GB "model" and you're starting from the 128 GB "model".
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 35
    night9hawknight9hawk Posts: 103member
    imat said:
    Just bought an iMac with SSD. Can I get a refund of the price difference (bought a week ago)?
    it’s a serious question. I know you can send it back if a new model comes out in two weeks after purchase. I wonder if it applies also to price reductions.
    I just bought 10 of them in the past couple of months for a client. Ouch!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 35
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    polymnia said:
    Yay! My condolences to the complainer contingent, one less thing to complain about. Though they are quite the resourceful bunch, I'm sure something else will be tapped to fill the gap soon.
    Riiight, because the point is to focus on the people who made valid complaints, not on the company that has just addressed one of those, per this article...
    avon b7larz2112muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 16 of 35
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    elfig2012 said:
    NO price reductions on Apple site for IMac Pro memory expansion in europe....
    Only one word in CAPS? If you speak louder in all CAPS we may hear you.
    macxpresscurtis hannahdoozydozenmacplusplus
  • Reply 17 of 35
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    This is awesome news going forward, and overdue. I really wanted to get the 4TB option on my 2018 MBP, but was already stretching it financially with the 2TB.  When this type of super fast storage first came out, the pricing wasn’t terribly out of line with aftermarket parts, but those prices have dropped significantly in  the last couple years. 

    Now do RAM!
    edited July 2019 jas99watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 35
    PylonsPylons Posts: 32member
    No changes to low tiers! Most importantly, it still costs the insulting figure of $200 to upgrade from 128 GB to 256 GB! That's $1600/TB!
    High-end SSDs cost $170-300/TB (for drives that are even faster than Apple's).
  • Reply 19 of 35
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Pylons said:
    No changes to low tiers! Most importantly, it still costs the insulting figure of $200 to upgrade from 128 GB to 256 GB! That's $1600/TB!
    High-end SSDs cost $170-300/TB (for drives that are even faster than Apple's).
    Right? And it's under 3lb? Do you know much I can get back from recycling 3lb of aluminium cans? Apple is literally raping us.
    fastasleepFileMakerFeller
  • Reply 20 of 35
    PylonsPylons Posts: 32member
    Soli said:
    Pylons said:
    No changes to low tiers! Most importantly, it still costs the insulting figure of $200 to upgrade from 128 GB to 256 GB! That's $1600/TB!
    High-end SSDs cost $170-300/TB (for drives that are even faster than Apple's).
    Right? And it's under 3lb? Do you know much I can get back from recycling 3lb of aluminium cans? Apple is literally raping us.
    Can't see how this is relevant. There is no need to be rude, if that is what you meant.
    SpamSandwich
Sign In or Register to comment.