Apple’s higher (and lower) MacBook pricing explained

Apple on Tuesday introduced new laptops with new chips–and new prices, as well. Usually, it’s easy to say whether something has gone up or down, but this time it’s a little more complicated than that. Let’s take a look at how the prices have changed.

M5 MacBook AIr

The new 13-inch M5 MacBook Air now starts at $1,099, which is $100 more than the $999 M4 MacBook Air. However, Apple doubled the base 256GB SSD that was in the $999 M4 Air, and the M5 Air now has a 512GB SSD. To make matters more confusing, the M4 Air with a 512GB SSD used to cost $1,199. So it looks like the price of the entry-level MacBook Air went up–which it did–but with more context, it also went down.

The same up-and-down effect happens with the 15-inch M5 MacBook Air. It starts at $1,299, which is $100 more than the M4 version. But the M4 Air had a 256GB SSD, which has been replaced by a 512GB SSD in the M5 Air. The 15-inch Air with a 512GB SSD was $1,399, $100 more. The same applies to higher storage tiers

M5 MacBook Pro

The entry-level MacBook Pro, which has been on sale since October for $1,599, now starts at $1,699. But instead of 512GB of storage, you now get 1TB of storage, which was $1,799 before. All other storage options also effectively cost $100 less, so the 2TB model will cost $2,099 instead of $2,199.

M5 Pro /Max MacBook Pro

The M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro is in a similar situation, though there isn’t the same up-and-down effect of the M5 MacBook Air.

The base 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook is $2,199, a $200 increase from the base M4 Pro MacBook Pro. But with the M5 Pro/Max, Apple dropped the 512GB SSD and now offers a 1TB SSD as its entry point for storage. So the $2,199 M5 Pro MacBook Pro includes a 1TB SSD. Upgrading to a 1TB SSD in the $1,999 M4 Pro MacBook Pro added $200 to the price tag, bringing it to the same $2,199. So effectively, the pricing has not changed.

The M5 Max MacBook Pro is no longer available with a 1TB SSD; it starts at $3,599 with a 2TB SSD. The laptop it replaces, the M4 Max MacBook Pro, started at $3,199, but it came with a 1TB SSD, and an upgrade to 2TB was $400, bringing its price to $3,599. So pricing is essentially the same, but the starting price is higher due to the extra storage.

The same goes for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which now starts at $2,699 with an M5 Pro processor and 1TB of storage, or $3,899 with an M5 Max chip and 2TB of storage. It’s more expensive to get in because you’re forced into higher storage tiers.

In all, the prices haven’t changed if you compare the SSD specifications. But if you simply look at the prices in terms of their placement in the lineup, they went up. It also appears that the shift in SSD storage and the pricing has something to do with the upcoming budget MacBook; Macworld contributor Mahmoud Itani offers more insight. Something to keep in mind as you shop for the new laptops.