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This week, Apple introduced a slew of new Macs with M5 chips, revealing an interesting new trend. More base storage, but at slightly higher prices. It had an effect MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
Currently M4 versions Mac mini, Mac Studioand iMac it still sticks with the old pricing scheme – but with the M5 lineup, that’s likely to change.
Corrections this week
with M5 MacBook AirApple raised the base warehouse From 256 GB to 512 GB – with a price increase of $ 100.
This is great for many people because previously you had to pay $200 to get this level. Basically, MacBook Air If you had already paid for 512 GB of storage, it was cheaper.
A similar price adjustment came to Basic 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5. It’s gone up $100, but now comes standard with 1TB of storage. Sure, it costs more than it used to, but if you used to buy 1TB of storage, it’s a lot more affordable.
Things were a little different M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro. He bought these 1TB storage by defaultbut with a $200 price increase. So you’re just paying for extra storage, without any real added value.
What’s next
Apple’s desktop suite hasn’t been touched yet, but we’re sure to see the same tweaks in future models. I’m a little surprised they haven’t done it yet, but it’s not far off.
With the next versions Mac mini, iMacand Mac Studiowe will probably see similar price changes:
- iMac: $1299 → $1399, with 512GB as new standard
- Mac mini: $599 → $699, with 512GB as new standard
- Mac Studio: $1999 → at least $2199 with 1TB as new standard
for Mac mini and iMacI definitely won’t take issue with the price adjustment. 256GB of storage is a joke in 2026, so if you’re someone who already paid for more storage, it actually becomes a better value for you.
On the flip side of that argument, I’d rather consumers pay a little more out the door for 512GB of storage than buy 256GB and end up with a slow Mac because they’re full and macOS can’t rely on swap memory — or have to upgrade quickly as memory needs change.
Mac Studioon the other hand, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. with M5 Max MacBook ProApple started including 2TB of storage by default, resulting in the M5 Max being more expensive to upgrade than the M4 Max. For this reason, Mac Studio with the next generation, it could cost more than $2,199.
Wrap it up
Ultimately, this is all speculation. However, given Apple’s tweaks to many Mac apps this week, it almost seems like a lock for everything to come. As it stands now, Apple hasn’t made any adjustments to unit memory prices despite the RAM crisis, so it doesn’t seem like an immediate concern.
How do you feel about Apple charging more and including more base memory for their computers? Have you always been a stickler for core memory? Let us know in the comments.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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