M2 Air - Eye popping prices outside of the US?

[Internaut]

16GB/512 comes in at £150 less than base the 14” Pro. I‘m a little surprised at that. Used to things costing more here but note the M1s were closer in price when factoring in the exchange rate. It‘s not just the UK either - rices comparably higher in Ireland.

I don’t think this is explained by the usual local taxes and so on. Perhaps Apple has supply constraints and wants to prioritise it’s largest market?

 

[neinjohn]

16GB/512 comes in at £150 less than base the 14” Pro. I‘m a little surprised at that. Used to things costing more here but note the M1s were closer in price when factoring in the exchange rate. It‘s not just the UK either - rices comparably higher in Ireland.

I don’t think this is explained by the usual local taxes and so on. Perhaps Apple has supply constraints and wants to prioritise it’s largest market?

The US price had a 20%* price increase (200$) and the EU price had a 25% price increase (300€).

I don't know if on previous new design the price increasing was the same or signs of times..

edit: crap maths

 

[Internaut]

The US price had a 25% price increase (200$) and the EU price also had a 25% price increase (300€).

I don't know if on previous new design the price increasing was the same or signs of times..

M1 Air started at £999 in the UK. I forget the greenback starting price, at launch, but the GBP was a little stronger back then. Perhaps to say eye popping is a little unfair of me.

Edit: And yes, the times are an actual thing.

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Has Apple increased the price of the M1 MBA in Europe?

 

[neinjohn]

Has Apple increased the price of the M1 MBA in Europe?

Nops, it kept the same as on US.

Nonetheless some countries on EU changed their warranty laws beginning this year to increase warranty to 3 year total (from previous 2 years) plus some improvement on associate conditions so you kinda get a better deal with the same price but that was true since 1th January.

Maybe the M2, as a new product, had that thought into the price increase too.

 

[MrGunny94]

Prices are up in Europe/UK, I suppose inflation and what not.. We should get ready as the next products by Apple seem like are gonna get quite expensive over here lol

 

[Captain_Mac]

This is all thanks to Apple wanting to keep their margins and not wanting to put products on peoples' hands. The dollar keeps getting stronger but Apple doesn't adjust pricing to local reality. The result is a pretty expensive MacBook Air.

 

[Falhófnir]

This is the first time Apple have gone over USD pricing in GBP that I can remember, despite the £ having been even lower (around US$1.20) previously. In the past at worst it was USD parity and at best £50-100 less than the USD base price. Theoretically as the UK includes 20% VAT the prices should equal out when £1 = $1.20, so with £1 currently worth $1.26 this does feel a bit like gouging.

 

[bobmans]

The US price had a 20%* price increase (200$) and the EU price had a 25% price increase (300€).

I don't know if on previous new design the price increasing was the same or signs of times..

edit: crap maths

EU price increased way more. M1 Air was 949 yesterday and increased to 1219 today. M2 starts at 1519 which is more than a 50% increase compared to yesterday's M1 Air price. Apple just added 25% to the M1 MBA price today and then added another 25% on top for the M2 MBA.

 

[dumastudetto]

Apple will always strive to keep prices as low as possible to ensure its industry-leading products arrive in the hands of as many people as possible. Right now, Apple has to be responsible and pass on currency weaknesses in Europe to European customers.

 

[NewBench]

The M2 base price of £1249 in the UK is surprising and too high, but at least they can argue it has the new M2 chip, a slightly bigger screen, better speakers, a better front-facing camera etc.

What Apple absolutely cannot justify is keeping the M1 MBA at £999, even taking into account inflation.

Shameful.

 

[Andysapple]

Nops, it kept the same as on US.

Nonetheless some countries on EU changed their warranty laws beginning this year to increase warranty to 3 year total (from previous 2 years) plus some improvement on associate conditions so you kinda get a better deal with the same price but that was true since 1th January.

Maybe the M2, as a new product, had that thought into the price increase too.

They just raised the price on the MBA M1 with roughly a 100$ in Sweden…

 

[JPack]

It seems to be Europe thing.

In HK, which has no taxes or import restrictions, the M2 MBA is HK$9,499 which is US$1,210.

In Canada, it's CA$1,499 which is US$1,191.

My guess is, Europe is paying $100 extra for the extended warranty demanded by legislation.

 

[skaertus]

Here in Brazil the M2 MacBook Air starts at USD 2,600. Pretty much absurd.

 

[Xiao_Xi]

It seems to be Europe thing.

In HK, which has no taxes or import restrictions, the M2 MBA is HK$9,499 which is US$1,210.

In Europe, Apple has changed the price of the M1 MBA from yesterday to today.

They just raised the price on the MBA M1 with roughly a 100$ in Sweden…

 

[throAU]

This is all thanks to Apple wanting to keep their margins and not wanting to put products on peoples' hands. The dollar keeps getting stronger but Apple doesn't adjust pricing to local reality. The result is a pretty expensive MacBook Air.

I’m sorry what?

Dollar getting stronger? You know what inflation is yes?

Your dollar buying less stuff. The US dollar is getting weaker.

 

[navaira]

Has Apple increased the price of the M1 MBA in Europe?

In the Netherlands from €1099 to €1219 (base model). The base model of M2 Air is €1519 and I can't stop being amused by this. I paid less for M1 8/8/1TB. (Which went €150 up as well.)

 

[JPack]

In Europe, Apple has changed the price of the M1 MBA from yesterday to today.

I don't see that based on web archive. It's still 13,495 SEK today, which is the same as it was last month.

 

[LeeW]

What Apple absolutely cannot justify is keeping the M1 MBA at £999, even taking into account inflation.

The £999 price of the M1 MBA is justified for Apple. When you compare the M1 MBA and this new M2 MBA, are there £250 of enhancements? Probably. The M1 MBA is still a decent machine at £999 by Apple standards.

For it to be of any interest to me it would need to have 16GB ram, the cheapest configuration would be £1,449 with only 256GB storage.

Ideally, I would want 16GB/512GB and that would drop in at £1,649. It's not about the money for me in terms of affordability, it is about the value and that is not value even for an Apple product, which I admit, is very nice but it's not that nice

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Nops, it kept the same as on US.

Nonetheless some countries on EU changed their warranty laws beginning this year to increase warranty to 3 year total (from previous 2 years) plus some improvement on associate conditions so you kinda get a better deal with the same price but that was true since 1th January.

Maybe the M2, as a new product, had that thought into the price increase too.

oh wow ,is france part of that new warranty thing lol

 

[Xiao_Xi]

In Europe, Apple has changed the price of the M1 MBA from yesterday to today.

My mistake. Apple increased the price of the M1 MBA by 100 € in February.

2022-02-10: https://web.archive.org/web/20220210003149/https://www.apple.com/es/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air
2022-02-16: https://web.archive.org/web/20220216022200/https://www.apple.com/es/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

The M2 base price of £1249 in the UK is surprising and too high, but at least they can argue it has the new M2 chip, a slightly bigger screen, better speakers, a better front-facing camera etc.

What Apple absolutely cannot justify is keeping the M1 MBA at £999, even taking into account inflation.

Shameful.

i get that your first point was just to introduce the second one (namely the fact they kept the mba m1 at its price)

still,i find these to be such silly arguments...ofc a mba that comes TWO ****ing years afterwards will have a better chip.as for the bigger screen its not bigger rly,if u use fullscreen anyway you gain no space given that notchbar will be blacked out anyway

better speakers yes.better camera,nope,the 1080p is crappy.

my point is : next year iteration (and 2 years after,even more so) wouldnt u expect the next gen to come at the same price,with some improvement ? how can you possibily justify a price hike for such excpected improvements ?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I’m sorry what?

Dollar getting stronger? You know what inflation is yes?

Your dollar buying less stuff. The US dollar is getting weaker.

The dollar has increased significantly in value through all of 2021. Inflation is a completely different thing.

 

[ric22]

Two years between chips and Apple want £250 extra for the new one?? Uh, no. That's price gouging, guys, however much you love Apple. Plus, the big ugly notch has joined the party. There's now no modern MacBook for sale which doesn't feature a notch or a TouchBar. Which sadist at Apple is it that has this notch fetish?

 

[leman]

The price increase is sure disappointing. The change in European pricing is mostly explained by the USD performance though.

Edit: actually, no, it’s not. Super weird. Especially given that CHF prices are in line with the current exchange rates but EUR are not. Does Apple foresee sharp decline of EUR performance relative to USD?