Rumor: Apple planning to launch $799 MacBook Air in Q3 2012

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  • Reply 21 of 85
    drdoppiodrdoppio Posts: 1,132member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post







    iPhone - price is comparable to other comparable high end phones - especially with a discount


    Indeed...

  • Reply 22 of 85
    jglonekjglonek Posts: 18member


    A lot of you are saying how this is most likely a completely wrong rumor. Well, I hope it's not! I've been wanting to get a Mac for awhile and scrounging up $799 is easier than $999. Just because Apple is a "premium" company doesn't mean they can't do things like this, and already do. Granted they aren't brand new builds but Apple has the iPhone 3GS/4 around after new models to hit the lower end of the market, and the same with the iPad 2. So if they can bring out a cheaper Macbook, why not?


     


    This would likely be my first Mac, and I do hope it happens!

  • Reply 23 of 85
    softekysofteky Posts: 136member

    ...snip...

    I have an i7macbook air and i couldn't be happier with it, and my girlfriend just loves it. her 5 year old cheap plastic dell is pretty much dead and she needs a new computer.
    obviously for her needs, a nice ultra book is the best bet and the air is, by far, the best between them. i would even argue that this computer is the best consumer laptop in the market right now.
    anyway, we both are in the best college of this country, me in engineering, and even that is not enough to prevent the bullshit that makes us use windows.

    I had the use Visual Studio (vb) -- windows. that's about it, but it was an inconvenience.
    she will have to use SPSS -- Mac.

    but chembio office suite and a few other programs? only in windows.
    for that reason, and since we don't have apple stores in portugal, and windows should be considered malware for any mac (even if it works very nicely, it's the same of f*cking a dirty, disgusting wh*re on your mercedes s 65 AMG) I asked her to try both the XPS and the air and then decide, based on the good vs bad of each machine. the XPS looks very nice, with an awesome small bezel, nice screen, etc.

    she is only used to windows and isn't tech expert at all and let's be honest, windows 7 (f*ck windows 8), for everyday use is a very nice OS, far from the OSX greatness, but very good.

    any opinions? any experience with the XPS? as fair as i know, it is selling a lot and usually anyone that does not want the mac route are just buying the XPS. it is very difficult to find one, so i still don't know how the battery is, the trackpad.. those little things that make every mac a much better machine.

    Have you considered a Mac running VMWare Fusion and the Windows (or Linux for that matter) OS of your choice, for those few programs that you must run that don't run on a Mac. That's what I do and there really is no speed penalty. Best of both worlds. PC programs running in there own environment on a Mac. I even taken a disk image of the local PC drive so, if I think I have a malware infection, I replace the suspect image from a known good backup. Takes minutes.
  • Reply 24 of 85
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member


    It makes a great deal of sense. Apple plays to win, and they aren't worried about competing with themselves. If they were, they wouldn't have introduced the iPad in the first place. 


     


    I agree that Apple would never sell at a price point that isn't profitable, nor would they sell at a price point that results in a low quality product. But if they can sell at a lower price while maintaining margins and quality, then they absolutely will. 


     


    Perhaps some observers do not appreciate how the economic realities have changes for Apple in the last 10 years. Ten years ago, Apple couldn't compete at lower price points with the Mac because Apple lacked the economies of scale to drive down costs. But now Apple is the biggest, baddest tech company in the world and can get prices on key components that also-rans like Dell and HP can only dream of. 

  • Reply 25 of 85
    zunxzunx Posts: 620member


    On this category, mobility is paramount. Just bring the 400 to 600 g MacBook Air. Ideal for Keynote and PowerPoint presentations. The Mac in your pocket or purse. Always. For heavy work, just get a MacBook Pro.

  • Reply 26 of 85
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    DigiTimes.

  • Reply 27 of 85
    foljsfoljs Posts: 390member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Carmissimo View Post



    Digitimes reliable?




    Yes, DigiTimes reliable. I've been following Apple rumors since 2003, and DigiTimes has been reliable many times.



    I don't know what this shit about it not being reliable is. As far as rumor sites go it's fine.



    (Keep in mind that even initially correct information can turn out not to be "right", if, say, Apple changes their mind regarding a product and alter or cancel it. Since you can't know whether Apple originally planned it as the rumors had it, you only take from a cancellation or alteration that the rumors were wrong.)





    Besides, Apple has never chased the lower end of the laptop market. 




    Which  doesn't mean anything. They also never chased the phone or the tablet market, until they released the iPhone and the iPad. Besides the catered to the low end with the Mac Mini and the now discontinued plastic Macbook. And $799 vs $999 is not catering to the low end. They will probably build upon their economies of scale, to keep their margin, and release models similar to the current ones for the lower price tier. Like they do with the older iPhone 4, that still sells.
  • Reply 28 of 85
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


     


    Apple makes a huge profit percentage,  They could lower prices, increase volume, and make even higher net profits.



    Really?  How do you know that?  Are you privy to their internal cost and sales figures?  Are you claiming that Apple is choosing not to maximize its profits?  Do you even understand the concept of demand elasticity?

  • Reply 29 of 85
    alonso perezalonso perez Posts: 385member


    I think the problem here is that the 13" Air is $1299, which is a little high. But if they create a basic 13"Air for $999 or $1099, that doesn't leave a lot room for the 11.6" models in terms of pricing.


     


    If the 13" MBP is going away, at $1199, then at the very least the 13" Air has to drop $100, in order to avoid a price rise for Apple's starter 13" laptop. But the $1199 price point is now held by the 11" 128GB Air, so that one has to drop to $1099, and that would push the 11" 64GB model to $899.


     


    Now, recall that the 13" entry price level for years was $999 with the plastic MacBook, and that for whatever reason Apple has not often used, if ever, the $1099 price.


     


    That said $799 does get into iPad territory, and could hamper future iPad positioning, especially the notion of an 11" iPad, which I happen to think would be brilliant but Apple does not appear to be pursuing.

  • Reply 30 of 85
    enzosenzos Posts: 344member


    Sounds like an excellent plan so long as the margin-shrink is largely offset by reductions in manufacturing costs. These are fast silky machines that are a joy to use (I've a maxed out 13") and a lower price should serve to keep people 'defecting' from the Dark Side into MacOS. 

  • Reply 31 of 85
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    I think the problem here is that the 13" Air is $1299, which is a little high. But if they create a basic 13"Air for $999 or $1099, that doesn't leave a lot room for the 11.6" models in terms of pricing.

    If the 13" MBP is going away, at $1199, then at the very least the 13" Air has to drop $100, in order to avoid a price rise for Apple's starter 13" laptop. But the $1199 price point is now held by the 11" 128GB Air, so that one has to drop to $1099, and that would push the 11" 64GB model to $899.

    Now, recall that the 13" entry price level for years was $999 with the plastic MacBook, and that for whatever reason Apple has not often used, if ever, the $1099 price.

    That said $799 does get into iPad territory, and could hamper future iPad positioning, especially the notion of an 11" iPad, which I happen to think would be brilliant but Apple does not appear to be pursuing.

    I don't see that there needs to be any change in the higher level models. Based on Apple's modus operandi for the iPad and iPhone, I would imagine:

    13" - starting at $1299 just like now. Upgraded to Ivy Bridge, hopefully with 8 GB RAM capacity and I would hope with lower prices for the higher SSD sizes.

    11" - starting at $999 just like now. Upgraded to Ivy Bridge.

    11" - previous generation Sandy Bridge - $799

    The first two are very high probability. Apple has quite a history of leaving prices unchanged and increasing the specs in each revision. The $799 is pure speculation but is consistent with their offering of previous generation iPads and iPhones at a discount.


    foljs wrote: »
    Yes, DigiTimes reliable. I've been following Apple rumors since 2003, and DigiTimes has been reliable many times.
    I don't know what this shit about it not being reliable is. As far as rumor sites go it's fine.

    Funny, but the people who actually track such things disagree.
    http://stupidapplerumors.com/news/2012/six-month-rumor-Report

    Digitimes has a perfect record - they've never been right on the rumors that SAR tracked. If they happen to be right on this one, it's pure luck.
  • Reply 32 of 85
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member


    Well.... it's clearly a loaded phrase, at least in the U.S. where people reflexively see a tax as a dead weight loss (it isn't, but that's how a lot of people see it).


     


    But it does have a sliver of truth in so far as Apple has higher margins than its competitors. The real question is whether customers are getting value for those higher margins. As an Apple customer, I definitely believe I'm getting value for those higher margins, and so I'm willing to pay. That is, if I could buy a PC that is equivalent in terms of technical specs (CPU, RAM, etc) to a Mac for less money, I would not do so, because I think the Mac has a better OS/ecosystem and a better build quality. 


     


    An interesting development in recent years is that for some Mac configurations, it's actually hard to find a PC with the same tech specs for noticeably less money, even though Apple has higher margins. This is because Apple has become so large that they can get better prices on components than competitors. And so the "apple tax" still exists conditional on component costs, but from the consumer's view (which is unconditional on component costs), the apple tax might not exist in some cases. Pretty amazing when you think about it. 


     


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    I really wish the phrase "Apple tax" would die. It hasn't been true for years.

  • Reply 33 of 85
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member


    All interesting conversations.


     


    Has anyone thought of the theory that perhaps this digitimes prediction could indicate the price point that Apple will post for refurbished MBA's?


    Currently, the 11" MBA with the core i5 is priced at $849.  It could be possible that they will drop the refurbished price point on previous models to $799 easily.


     


    However, I could subscribe the to the notion that Apple introduces a previous model (like the iPad and iPhone) for a lower price point as well.  That model (in recent article) has seen some traction with finge consumers looking to get into the Mac ecosystem at a lower price point.

  • Reply 34 of 85
    hudson1hudson1 Posts: 800member


    Seems like this is a product best slotted for the education market in bulk shipment, perhaps augmenting the $999 MBA for that market.


     


    Also, this is not necessarily a "race to the bottom" offering when you can find Wintel notebooks out there for under $500.

     

  • Reply 35 of 85
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    hudson1 wrote: »
    Seems like this is a product best slotted for the education market in bulk shipment, perhaps augmenting the $999 MBA for that market.

    Also, this is not necessarily a "race to the bottom" offering when you can find Wintel notebooks out there for under $500.

    Exactly.

    blastdoor wrote: »
    Well.... it's clearly a loaded phrase, at least in the U.S. where people reflexively see a tax as a dead weight loss (it isn't, but that's how a lot of people see it).

    But it does have a sliver of truth in so far as Apple has higher margins than its competitors. The real question is whether customers are getting value for those higher margins. As an Apple customer, I definitely believe I'm getting value for those higher margins, and so I'm willing to pay. That is, if I could buy a PC that is equivalent in terms of technical specs (CPU, RAM, etc) to a Mac for less money, I would not do so, because I think the Mac has a better OS/ecosystem and a better build quality. 

    An interesting development in recent years is that for some Mac configurations, it's actually hard to find a PC with the same tech specs for noticeably less money, even though Apple has higher margins. This is because Apple has become so large that they can get better prices on components than competitors. And so the "apple tax" still exists conditional on component costs, but from the consumer's view (which is unconditional on component costs), the apple tax might not exist in some cases. Pretty amazing when you think about it. 


    You're confusing margins with "Apple tax". The latter phrase implies that the consumer is paying more money for something with an Apple label - which as I've shown (and you are agreeing) is incorrect. Apple's products tend to have a price comparable to the market price of competitive products.

    The fact that Apple is able to obtain sufficient efficiencies to improve their margins is irrelevant to the consumer. As far as price is concerned, the consumer only cares about the price of product A compared to product B.
  • Reply 36 of 85
    pedromartinspedromartins Posts: 1,333member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by softeky View Post





    Have you considered a Mac running VMWare Fusion and the Windows (or Linux for that matter) OS of your choice, for those few programs that you must run that don't run on a Mac. That's what I do and there really is no speed penalty. Best of both worlds. PC programs running in there own environment on a Mac. I even taken a disk image of the local PC drive so, if I think I have a malware infection, I replace the suspect image from a known good backup. Takes minutes.


    that's what i did myself when i had to use VisualStudio.


     


    in my girlfriend's case, she needs a few more windows-only programs and is not tech savvy at all, even the mac version of office is a little troublesome for her because she is just used to the windows version (it is different).


     


    having said that, and even if macOSX is easy to learn, together with the fact that buying a mac in portugal is always risky, i think (and she agrees) that she should give a try to another high quality computer.


     


    cudos to dell, the XPS looks awesome (in every review) and is small and good looking HQ tech. they even had the decency to do not fill it with bloatware. it looks like someone with common sense came to that company.


     


    having said that, for me it's macs all the way, but I see and understand her situation and i try do advise her, as i should. 


    ZoomInto: Pictures, Images and Photos



     

  • Reply 37 of 85
    macarenamacarena Posts: 365member


    The people who think that Apple will not do this, are forgetting that this is Tim Cook's Apple - not Steve Jobs' Apple. For a master at logistics, the best way to showcase his skills is to increase supply (and therefore marketshare), and lower prices, without impacting profit margins significantly.


     


    Secondly, it is high time Apple made a serious attempt at marketshare. There is absolutely no point in having $100B in the bank, if Apple does not use that money to improve its market presence in areas where they can. For a large company, Apple's profit margins are approaching obscene levels. Even Apple lovers will soon start questioning the pricing strategies. Apple is better off sacrificing margins for market share today. In all likelihood, their overall profits would increase at lower margins, because of much higher sales.


     


    The new iPad has seen humongous demand, but still Apple has managed to keep supply at reasonable levels. Wait periods are in days, and not weeks. And Apple did not increase pricing on the new iPad, despite significant improvements - and even expectations in the market that the new iPad would be priced at $579 or $599. I believe, these two facts signal a clear departure from past strategies.


     


    I really want Apple to employ a scorched earth strategy to increase market share. Do not leave any low lying fruit for the opposition. Insistence on 40% margins might not be the best strategy for Apple today. If they can sell twice the volume at half the margins, their overall profits would be the same - and it is not inconceivable that Apple can sell twice the volume at half the margins in some product segments - notably desktop and laptop computers. Anyway, today desktop and laptop computers are such a small percentage of Apple's business that lowering margins will not impact the company much.

  • Reply 38 of 85
    kkerstkkerst Posts: 330member


    Here's what will probably happen: Apple will take the existing Airs, rebrand them as MacBook Pros by adding a little more memory and more peripherals. At the same time, they will scale that down for a new Air. Now at the price point of $799? No way, I say stick with the $999 entry and they will still have the market. The important thing to remember is that they are revamping their Pro line to all have SSDs. 

  • Reply 39 of 85
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





     As far as price is concerned, the consumer only cares about the price of product A compared to product B.


    Many people fail to grasp the concept of "You get what you pay for". They don't understand that a $500 Dell is not a good deal. They will pay for vanity though, which is a significant factor in Apple's recent success as it is perceived as very trendy at the moment, to be a MacBook or iPhone owner. 

  • Reply 40 of 85
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    Apple don't compete, they don't need to.
    Cost isn't everything, just use a PC or android to see that.
    Apple stuff has soul and usability.
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