13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Rumored To Start At $1699

Apple’s upcoming media event, scheduled for the 23rd of this month, will not only see a smaller iPad, but also a new iMac, Mac Mini and a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro.

9to5Mac has gotten word on the pricing of the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, specifically the entry level and the highest range models.

From 9to5Mac’s report:

We believe the entry model 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro will cost roughly $1,699 at launch, based on wholesale prices we received, while the higher spec model will cost $200 to $300 more.

The 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is expected to have a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, up from the current 1280 x 800 pixels along with a considerable decrease in thickness and weight.

The estimated pricing of $1699 makes the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro $600 more expensive that the entry level 13 inch model. For comparison, the difference between the price of a 15-inch Retina and non Retina MacBook Pro is a little less, at $400.

The significant difference in the pricing of Retina and non Retina models can be primarily attributed to the high cost of solid state drives as compared to mechanical storage and of course the high resolution Retina display.

iPad 3 mark II pricing reportedly leaked, same configurations as before

Way back in August iMore learned that Apple was planning to update the existing iPad 3 with what's now known as the Lightning connector, as well as some internal improvements, and re-release it alongside the iPad mini this fall. Well, it's fall now, the iPad event has been set for October 23 and lo and behold, new iPad 3 SKUs are reportedly starting to appear. Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac has the info:

Apple will announce a refreshed version of its full-sized, 9.7-inch Retina display iPad at its media event October 23rd, according to our sources. These people say that the new version of the iPad will retain the same $499, $599, and $699 WiFi-only price points, and the LTE line will retain the current $629, $729, and $829 pricing. With no price changes or additional storage capacities, we believe that the storage options of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB will also be retained.

To be clear, I don't believe this to be an iPad 4 by any stretch of the imagination, and while just a guess, I do expect Apple not to market it as a "new" iPad 3, but merely as the same iPad 3 now with a Lightning connector and LTE options for international markets. Any and all other improvements under the covers would just be opportunistic and likely not even mentioned.

If you bought an iPad 3 in the last 6 months, it won't be obsolete, and Apple won't be "screwing" you over. The iPad 3 was the best tech Apple could sell back when it was released, and now they can sell slightly better tech and give faster speeds to people in more parts of the world.

If you squint and turn your head just so, think of it as a similar situation to the Verizon iPhone and its new antenna. People in Australia and parts of Europe are getting an LTE iPad 6 months later than North America and, by-the-way, Apple has just happened to improved a few other things as well.

Of course, nothing is official until Apple holds it up on stage.

Source: 9to5Mac