Apple Cutting International Pricing to Rebalance Currency Conversion Rates?

9 to 5 Mac reports that it is receiving word from some international third-party retailers that some of the new machines reportedly being released tomorrow are carrying reduced price tags compared to the current models.

apple store countries
According to the report, the price reductions seem to be adjusting for the fact that the U.S. dollar has fallen in value against many other world currencies over the past year, making Apple's pricing in those countries appear significantly higher than in the United States when considering exchange rates. Consequently, lower international pricing is not necessarily indicative of forthcoming price drops for the new hardware in the U.S.

We've been getting word from some international Apple retailers that not only are MacBook Airs, Minis and White MacBooks getting updated tomorrow, but they are also going to see modest-significant price drops in some countries we've polled. While we can't get into the specifics of where and how much, we can tell you some models are being reduced more than the equivalent of $100.

Along similar lines, MacStories put forth an interesting theory earlier today regarding Apple's iTunes Store downtime today, suggesting that the company might be trying to rebalance its country-by-country pricing tiers to account for the weakening U.S. dollar.

While there was no direct evidence for that suggestion and there has yet to be any sign of such changes, the report did note that some of the odd collection of countries most affected by Apple's downtime are among those furthest out of line on pricing compared to the U.S. In addition, Australian politicians reported last week that Apple would be responding to their earlier requests for information about pricing disparities "in mid July".

Tag: 9to5Mac

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Top Rated Comments

Samsumac Avatar
179 months ago
If this stands, it is going to be an act of sanity that is long overdue
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reclusive46 Avatar
179 months ago
Even with VAT we end up paying up to 200 usd more
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iStudentUK Avatar
179 months ago
Prices in £ are high at the moment (even with VAT etc considered), I think it's the number one reason Mac has a lower Market share here compared to the US.

If they could go as far as taking 10% off it would be great.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jerome Morrow Avatar
179 months ago
Thank God. I was overpaying for years.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
179 months ago
Make Canada dollar for dollar already!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rickster2k Avatar
179 months ago
So if machines are shipping tomorrow I assume the whole Lion released tonight/tomorrow morning may had a shred of credibility.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)