Apple’s Macbook Pro M2 is an unusual device: the only difference from the previous version is the new chip.
The Macbook Pro with M2 chip is an unusual device. The only difference to the predecessor is the new chip. So why is Apple selling such a device? In order to explain this, we have to go back a little further.
In recent years, Apple has consistently become the most valuable company in the world. Apparently, Cupertino couldn’t reach the top without strategically positioning its products. A big part of Apple’s success is that the company offers products at every price point.
Of course, with powerful, good-looking devices and correspondingly attractive profit margins, the options are somewhat limited when it comes to offering these products at lower prices. This has led to an important part of Apple’s strategy applying to all product lines: old is back. Apple has made it a science to retain older products and sell them at lower prices to fill gaps in the range – a move who continues to serve the company well.
This old Mac
As for the Mac, the company has a long history of keeping legacy models to fit a specific price point. Long after Apple upgraded its notebooks to Retina displays and got rid of optical drives, the company continued to sell an older Macbook Pro with a CD-ROM but no Retina display. Ditto for the 21.5-inch iMac with the hard drive that was sold up until last fall.
That’s also why the recently released 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar – a machine whose design predates the Apple Silicon era – has just been upgraded to the M2. And why the M1 Macbook Air is still on sale. And why Apple still sells a Mac Mini powered by an Intel chip: It’s all about the price. The new MacBook Air is a beautiful, powerful device, but its redesigned exterior means it’s expensive to manufacture. Apple did well by offering the Macbook Air at a price of 1,199 euros – it’s not Apple’s most popular notebook for nothing.
Buy a Macbook Pro M2 at Media Markt for 1599 euros
Until the company can ramp up production of the new MacBook Air enough to replace both the M1 Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, you should expect the old models to be around – even if the newer ones are models are more desirable.
Why the new Macbook Pro should have a different name
The iPhone of the past
When it comes to its flagship, Apple has turned the idea of repurposing old devices into an art form. The iPhone SE was developed specifically to allow the company to continue making older versions of its smartphones using hardware it could already produce cheaply and in large quantities in order to sell them at a lower price.
The cheapest smartphone from the current model year that Apple sells is the iPhone 13 Mini, which starts at 799 euros. This is cheap for a modern iPhone, but hardly for people on a tight budget. Hence the third-generation SE, which is a slightly redesigned version of the iPhone that Apple has been selling since 2014 – about halfway through the iPhone’s lifespan. The SE starts at €519, making it significantly cheaper than the 13 Mini, not to mention the larger versions of the 13 series. (However, the iPhone 11 is available for only 579 euros, but with a slower processor and LTE instead of 5G like the latest iPhone SE).
When Apple finally releases a fourth-gen iPhone SE – likely in a couple of years – it’ll likely switch to the modern design introduced with the iPhone X. At this point, the design will be seven years old. It will likely be cheaper for Apple to produce all of its smartphones in a single design than to keep all the tools and fabrics to make the devices from a decade ago.
Apple Watch of the future
With the Apple Watch, Apple has chosen an interesting mix of these two approaches. Older Watch models are still available for sale – most notably the five-year-old Apple Watch Series 3, which is available for the very low price of $249, although it can’t be upgraded to this year’s watchOS version.
At the same time, the company has also tried out the SE approach. The Apple Watch SE costs just £80 more than the Series 3, and one can imagine that Apple was keen to offer it at the same price but was unable to keep its margins. Since the SE is essentially a slightly redesigned Series 4, Apple still benefits from mass-producing an older model without having to incur the added expense of features like always-on display, ECG and blood oxygen sensors.
This year’s Apple Watch will reportedly be based on more or less the same processor as the last two years’ models, suggesting the technology has stabilized enough for the company to finally scrap the Series 3. But don’t expect Apple to deviate from its strategy of keeping a few laggards in the range: the cost-efficiency is just too good.
This article is originally from our sister publication
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