13-inch Retina MacBook settles in at $1,499 for 256GB
Apple's not-so-hot-selling 13.3-inch Retina MacBook Pro seems to have found pricing equilibrium at online retailers.
At retailers, Apple's 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro has found a happy medium between a fire sale and Apple's official pricing.
Online retailers like MacMall and MacConnection are selling Apple's smallest Retina MacBook for $1,499 -- with a bonus.
That price gets you a 256GB solid-state drive -- a step up from the $1,499 model that Apple offers with a 128GB drive.
And that 128GB model is even cheaper at MacConnection, which now appears to have settled on a less drastic discount of $1,399 after practically fire-selling it earlier this month for $1,299.
Why all the discounting? Despite boasting an LED-backlit IPS display with stunning 2,560x1,600 resolution, the 13.3-inch MBP hasn't been selling very well.
That was affirmed by Apple when it cut the price $200 to $1,499 in February after widespread discounting from retailers.
And there have been reports from Asia that component suppliers for the Retina MBP have not seen a significant increase in orders, forcing Apple to sit on unsold inventory.
But that's not stopping Windows 8 PC vendors from pricing high-resolution laptops in the stratosphere. On Wednesday, Toshiba announced the Retina-like Kirabook that it apparently intends to sell for between $1,599 and $1,999.
"The high-res screen looked amazing when playing native resolution video content -- as it would on a Retina MacBook Pro or Google Pixel Chromebook," CNET Reviews said.
Is it amazing enough to wow buyers at those prices? Apple's experience might give Toshiba some clues.
