Choosing which MacBook to buy just got a lot harder.
From a brand new iPad Pro to the latest iteration of its 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple hasn't let these strange times slow down its release cycle. But if you're thinking of buying said MacBook Pro, an unexpected new price hike could make the decision a little harder to stomach.
This weekend, Apple quietly doubled the price of a RAM upgrade on the base model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Instead of the previous price of $100, jumping from 8GB to 16GB of RAM will now set you back a hefty $200. The MacBook Pro might be one of the best laptops for graphic design, but if you want to get the most out of this particular model, you'll now have to cough up $100 more than you would have a few days ago.
According to MacRumors, Apple occasionally adjusts pricing as component costs change over time, but what makes this a particularly unusual example is that the machine was only released only a month ago. This could suggest that the issue is somewhat unexpected, such as supply-chain problems. The cost of upgrading the RAM on the high-end 13-inch model remains unchanged – going from 16GB to 32GB still costs $400.
For creatives who can't decide which new MacBook Pro to buy, this price hike makes things even trickier, closing the price gap between the base model and high-end model. The base model (with 512GB storage and doubled RAM) now costs $1,699 – just $100 less than the high-end model with exactly the same storage and memory, but a much faster processor. It's now even more tempting to drop $1,799 on the high-end model.
While every 2020 MacBook Pro features the much-improved Magic Keyboard, internal improvements (including a brand new 10th generation processor) are saved for the high-end version. With the base model packing the same 8th generation processor as its 2019 predecessor, and the price for extra RAM now twice as high, it's becoming difficult to recommend over the pricier option – especially for creatives using power-intensive software such as Final Cut Pro (don't forget to check out the best laptops for video editing).
Whatever the reason for this particular price-hike, Apple certainly has recent form when it comes to mind-bogglingly expensive extras. The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro came with a not-so-magic price tag, and the less said about Apple's $699 Mac Pro wheels, the better. Still, there's no denying that both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are brilliant laptops for creatives – check out today's best deals below.
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Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
