Weak Pound and Hiked Prices Make Apple Macs More Expensive for Brits

As is traditional for Apple, the company took down its regional online stores globally yesterday in anticipation of the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros. But far from simply updating the sites to showcase the new computers, on its U.K. site at least, Apple took the opportunity to hike its Mac prices across the board.

As noted following yesterday's event, rather than position the new MacBook Pro notebooks at the same price point as their earlier generation equivalents, Apple has made them more expensive. But for U.K. customers, that excess is vastly more prohibitive.


A 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar costs £1,449 (which converts to $1,765 on the USD/GBP exchange), while the Touch Bar version starts at £1,749 ($2,130 converted). Meanwhile a base model 15-inch MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar costs £2,349 ($2,860 converted). Those notebook prices compare to U.S. retail prices of $1,499, $1,799, and $2,399, respectively.

Looking past Apple's self-imposed MacBook Pro price increases, the equivalent U.K. prices actually fall in line with exchange conversions plus 20 percent Value Added Tax. However, the numbers also reflect the weak pound, which has plummeted since the U.K. made the decision to leave the European Union.

Unfortunately as a result, Apple has also bumped its Sterling Pound prices for its entire Mac line-up. For example, last year a 13-inch MacBook Pro started at £999. Apple is still selling the older 13-inch MacBook Pro, except it now costs £1,249 – a £250 increase compared to two days ago.

Similar price increases can be seen across the Mac mini, iMacs, and Mac Pro. The Mac mini now costs £479, up from £399, while the iMac 4K is now £250 more expensive at £1,449. The iMac 5K has also seen a £250 bump (£1,749), but Apple's three-year-old Mac Pro has gone up a whole half grand – from £2,499 to £2,999.

On the other hand, the low value of the pound means EU citizens visiting the U.K. who are interested in buying Apple hardware could make some serious savings.

For example, as noted by discount and coupon site CupoNation, since the current price for an iPhone in Spain is 769 euros (£687), purchasing the phone in the UK (£599), is about 99 euros or 13 percent cheaper than in Spain. This means that in theory a Spanish citizen could utilize the 99 euros (£88) to take a flight to London and stay one night, and still be saving money.

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