Apple has quietly adjusted the pricing for RAM upgrades in the entry-level $1299 MacBook Pro. Until today, Apple had charged $100 to upgrade from 8GB of RAM to 16GB of RAM, but now that upgrade costs $200 in the United States.
Update 6/1: Apple has reportedly informed The Verge that this price change is actually a price correction:
The price to upgrade RAM from 8GB to 16GB is $200 on other Macs, including the iMac and MacBook Air, and this change is meant to keep the fee consistent. Apple says it will honor the earlier pricing for those who purchased the cheaper RAM upgrade before the price change went into effect.
Even a company as big as Apple can make pricing mistakes, but the Pro Display XDR stand and Mac Pro wheels are apparently accurately priced.
As first noted by MacRumors, the change also applies to other countries; in Germany, the price has doubled from €125 to €250. In the United Kingdom, the upgrade price has doubled from £100 to £200.
It’s not unusual at all for Apple to adjust build-to-order configuration pricing for the Mac lineup. Most recently, Apple drastically lowered Mac SSD pricing last summer while also introducing new storage configurations.
These fluctuations in component pricing are generally due to changes in supply and demand. For example, it’s possible that Apple’s supplier for entry-level MacBook Pro RAM is experiencing disruptions, whether it be because of COVID-19 or other changes.
Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro lineup last month, bringing the new Magic Keyboard design and performance improvements. The entry-level model, however, went largely unchanged, with the only upgrade being the new scissor switch keyboard.
As such, changes in component pricing are also evident when Apple releases a new Mac and adjusts the default storage configuration, such as last month when the MacBook Pro refresh also included double the SSD storage.
As of right now, RAM pricing for the rest of Apple’s Mac lineup has not changed. This is not necessarily surprising as Apple has different RAM types and suppliers for different Mac models.
Read more:
- Hands-on: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) – a long time coming [Video]
- 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air comparison
- 16-inch MacBook Pro review – a great keyboard is just the start [Video]
- Apple updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard, doubles SSD storage
- Review roundup: 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro is a ‘strong and safe bet’ but also the ‘awkward middle child’ [Videos]
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