Apple’s OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro may face a “$300 to $500” price hike to protect the company’s profits from ‘RAMageddon.”
The laptop — which may or may not be dubbed the “MacBook Ultra” — is expected to debut at Apple’s October 28 “Pro and Tell” event. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said it should run M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, include a Dynamic Island instead of a notch, and (hopefully) have cellular connectivity options. It’s also expected to be lighter, if not thinner, than current MacBook Pros.
And it will be expensive. Based on a BOM analysis for the current mini LED model and a IT Panel cost report, David Naranjo, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, told Tom’s Guide that he expects a 14″ OLED version to start between $2,799 and $2,999. And a 16-incher will cost even more.
That’s a sizable $3-500 “Apple Tax” increase overnight, so where is that money going? According to Counterpoint, it covers the advanced tandem OLED technology (the same bright, vivid panel you see in the M5 iPad Pro), the long-rumored touchscreen features, and — crucially — ongoing memory expenses.
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