The Apple 13 inch laptops in the Air and Pro line see some change this week, and price is a big part of that.
There’s good news if you’re keen to buy a Mac lately and have been looking for ways to save money, because Apple is signalling a change to the Mac line that might just help you.
This week, Apple is making some changes, releasing new variants of its 13 inch computers that also manage to cut the price down in the process.
It’s happening to both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, and while neither will see the luxury of the recent Intel ninth-generation change we saw on the 15 inch MacBook Pro, the changes being introduced by Apple now could be helpful if the decision to get a new Mac is being swayed by your wallet.
First there’s the MacBook Pro, which is a minor change, but an interesting one all the same.
For the past few years since introducing the MacBook Pro with the OLED Touch Bar, Apple has kept a standard model with the physical keys and without the Touch Bar. From this week, that model disappears.
It’s not so much getting replaced, but rather just seeing something else.
Instead, the MacBook Pro 13 line-up starts with a lower speed variant, offering a MacBook Pro without a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5, and using a 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 for the new variation.
For $1999 in Australia, the MacBook Pro 13 gets the OLED Touch Bar and the fingerprint login of Touch ID, but uses 128GB storage, 8GB RAM, and the eighth-generation 1.4GHz Intel Core i5. There’s also a variant with twice the storage at 256GB for $2299, both of which have two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
If you feel you need twice the Thunderbolt 3 ports in your MacBook Pro 13 at a total of four, as well as a fast processor in the 2.4GHz Core i5, that will now start from $2699.
Neither move to Intel’s ninth-generation like the new MacBook Pro, but the range is a little less muddled now that they all come packing the OLED Touch Bar, a move that may annoy folks, though they always have the MacBook Air.
That’s also getting some changes too, folks.
The late 2018 refresh of the Apple MacBook Air will see a minor update from its introduction last year and a reduced price, adding support for True Tone to the Retina display, which means the colour on the screen can adapt to the white balance of where you are. Harsh blue white becomes slightly warmer much like it does on the iPad Pro, which can make it easier to work with in various lighting conditions.
The price is the other factor here, with the 2019 MacBook Air starting at $1699 and taking up the slot for the least expensive MacBook in the line-up.
The MacBook Air won’t see any other major hardware changes, and you’ll still find a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, dual-core Intel processor, and 128GB of storage at $1699 or 256GB at $1999.
Both will change in Apple stores this week, with university students paying a little less, the MacBook Air from $1549 and the MacBook Pro from $1849 for them.
