Apple has started selling its new Mac Pro desktop computer on Tuesday, complete with eye-watering pricing options that can push the cost north of US$50 000.
The new machine, built in Austin, Texas after Apple got tariff relief from the Trump administration, starts at $5 999 for specifications that some programmers, video editors and photographers might consider measly. Fully loaded, the computer costs more than $52 000 (R770 000 at the time of publication — before taxes), and that’s excluding the optional $400 wheels for easily moving the machine around an office.
For some professional users, the cost of Apple’s new computer is just part of doing business. But for most consumers, the Mac Pro’s price is shocking. As one of the most expensive PCs in the world, some Apple users quickly compared the cost to a car.
The base product includes 256GB of storage, low for professional computers in the same price range. A 4TB option is an extra $1 400. An 8TB upgrade is coming later, according to Apple’s website, but pricing hasn’t been announced.
To increase the computer’s RAM memory from 32GB to 1.5TB is $25 000 extra, the main reason the price can exceed $52 000. Apple said a version of the Mac Pro designed to be racked in data centres costs an extra $500 and will launch later. The Mac Pro does not include a display. Apple put a new Pro Display XDR on sale Tuesday for $4 999.
The Mac Pro’s pricing first came into focus in June when the company announced the product and said that a stand to hold the new monitor would cost an extra $999. — (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP