Take

I've been keeping track of the Swedish prices of the MacBook Pro lineup.

The M4 Max MacBook Pro and the M5 Max MacBook Pro had different prices; then the M5 Max MacBook Pro had its prices raised in June. As an example configuration, this put the 16" M5 Max, 18 CPU core, 32 GPU core, 36 GB memory, 4 TB storage, nano-texture model at 72,945 SEK as of the RAM adjustment. Configuring the identical (and as-of-yet-un-updated model) now comes out to 75,945 SEK. Of the handful of models I kept track of, prices increased by either 3,000 SEK or 4,000 SEK, roughly: $300 and $400. (Applicable VAT rates have not changed in Sweden, nor have additional fees been introduced.)

This leaves two options:

• The MacBook Pro prices were hiked after the memory-related hardware price hikes. This is not likely, since Apple tends to set prices for a long period of time, and not be responsive to currency rate changes.

  If currency rates were the issue, changes would be proportional and lower models would have increased less than higher models, but the 16", 18 CPU core, 32 GPU core, 36 GB memory, 4 TB storage model and the 16", 18 CPU core, 40 GPU core, 128 GB memory, 8 TB storage, nano-texture screen model increased by the same 4,000 SEK, despite one being literally ~66% more expensive.

  Also, price checking sites, although they have not picked up the new prices yet, have not detected a price change since the June price hikes.

• The MacBook Pro prices were hiked now, alongside the newly introduced 14" M6 model. If Apple truly is intending to introduce a direct replacement, this means introducing new prices for a significant number of SKUs in a significant number of markets, all to last a single day, when replaced by the forthcoming new model. Significant smoke-and-mirrors stagecraft, but I find it much more likely that the price changes to the current SKUs are not mere single-day mayflies, and that the upcoming model is a new tier that slides on top of the existing MacBook Pro lineup.

Prepare for a new tier of MacBook for the first time in a long while. (And even higher prices.)