Apple rolls out more-affordable line of Macs
Apple Inc. introduced a refreshed line of Macintosh desktop computers Tuesday that the company touted as more affordable, even though price tags for all but one model top $1,000.
The rollout included a price cut on the low end of the iMac line of desktops with built-in monitors. A version with a 20-inch screen starts at $1,199, $300 less than the previous generation. The 24-inch model starts at $1,499.
Apple unveiled a long-rumored update to the Mac Mini, a petite computer sold without a monitor, keyboard or mouse. The company’s cheapest computer, at $599, was updated with a faster graphics processor and the ability to run more than one monitor at a time. In a news release, Apple also promoted the Mini’s energy efficiency and said it draws less than 13 watts of power when idle, or about one-tenth the power of a typical machine.
The company also overhauled its professional-grade workhorse, the Mac Pro, with a quad-core processor from Intel Corp car loan rates., while cutting its price by $300 to $2,499. An eight-core version starts at $3,299.
Apple has long focused on selling higher-end computers to consumers willing to pay extra. To date, Apple has made few concessions to the economic crisis that’s crimping spending, and strong sales overseas during the holiday quarter helped offset a slower season in the U.S.
So far, Apple has stayed away from the one fast-growing PC category, netbooks, or cheap, low-powered notebooks that have been a hit with recession-bitten consumers. Those machines start well below $300.
In a research note Tuesday, UBS analyst Maynard Um wrote that "investors may have been hoping for greater price cuts at the low end."