Is there an Apple BuyBack for now back-versioned MacBook Pro customers?

It's the nature of technology unfortunately - the second you buy something it's practically obselete. I find it interesting that you go don't get the same reaction from (say) Dell customers? I mean they up their specs a lot more often and by smaller chunks?

I doubt very much that they'll take your unit back. If you absolutely have to have the latest version then sell it and buy a new one.

Yes, it's a little depressing, but it's the way technology marches on.

Not the way to treat loyal customers? As opposed to what? They should NOT release new spanky kit? Or they should tell everyone 3 months in advance and sell next to nothing for 3 months? Business is business after all.

I understand your pain, but to blame Apple for it in isolation I don't thin is particularly fair.

Apple does do a program for trading back equipment that was purchased just before the upgrade comes out -- usually this is 15 - 30 days -- you are well past that having bought your MBP in December...

OP,
Your computer still operates as it always has. You haven't been mistreated in any manner.

I kinda think not.

Apple is a business, not a charity.

Everyone knows that there will always be a newer model around the corner.

Did you bother to perform the most basic research online? All the rumor sites were calling for it.

It is just like purchasing a car in December 2010 and not expecting the 2011s.

Senpo Zauberflote wrote:
No? they just depreciated my machine by 50%. So i kinda think i have been mistreated.

Yes, I read about this computer syndrome. Computers are suddenly able to do only 50% of what they could accomplish prior to a new model coming out. Very strange indeed.

Stedman

So when should they cut prices? 2 weeks? 4 weeks? 2 months? 3 months?

Say it's 3 months. Who would buy in months 1 to 9? It's a screwey business model that does not stand up to scrutiny really.

Look at what they've done with the iPads - announced iPad 2 and then immediately discounted people who purchase iPad 1 for new, and anyone who'd bought iPad 1 in the previous 30 days.... That's exactly the model they use for MBP refreshes.

I seriously don't see the problem with it.

It really comes down to the "Darn... They just released a new model and I just got mine x days ago!" syndrome. We've all been there.

Surprisingly enough... MacBook Pros tend to have among the highest (if not "the" highest)resale values... even when newer models are released.

It's really a matter of how you look at it. When you bought your MacBook Pro, you decided at that point in time that you were willing to pay $3,500 for what that machine offered and that it met your needs. Now, even if Apple comes out with something that is ten times faster, your current machine is no less useful than it was when you bought it. The machine you have is still an excellent machine by all notebook standards. There are plenty of people out there with the same model who will be very happy for years to come.

Unlike Dell, Asus, etc... Apple only has a few models. Anytime there is an update, it's much more obvious. With the other manufacturers, they tend to release new models (with new designations) when they do updates. So it's a little less obvious that they're just basically updating a machine. There might be a U35jc... then they decide to upgrade some components and now it's a U36jc. There won't just be an updated version of the U35jc. Apple keeps the same basic model names so everyone notices even the slightest changes. Or course, Apple always has events to announce the changes that most other companies just incorporate so this draws attention to the updates as well.

Is it frustrating when something newer comes out shortly after you buy something? Of course it is. You just have to decide how you're going to deal with it. Accept you have a great machine... or be mad at something that you have no control over and every tech company does.

There is, of course, a risk in purchasing a newly introduced product as well (which the newest MBPs are). The last generation was based on relatively tried and true technologies. The newest machines are based on cutting edge tech and Apple is pretty much the only company at this point to be offering it on a large scale. While we're hopeful there won't be any major issues... we just don't know yet.

About the only way you can be sure of getting the latest tech is to make your purchase right after an update is released. Of course, you're taking your chances with new tech at that point, but you can at least be sure that when something new is released, you'll have had yours as long as possible before that happens.

No? they just depreciated my machine by 50%. So i kinda think i have been mistreated.

50%? Hardly. Look at the value here:

http://www.powermax.com/parts/show/c-u72520

Now while that one is probably the machine you have, and it does NOT include the operating system CD, which you do have, and that alone is worth something, and RAM is cheap. And your machine is still qualified for the three year Applecare until it is 12 months old. The one above is not.

As for your $3500 pricetag, you probably bought the more expensive 750 GB internal hard drive or a faster one and even more built-in RAM. Regardless that's not 50% drop. If your 17" machine was worth only $1750 now in the used market with CDs and all that you loaded with, I think your complaint would be more reasonable. But claiming 50% when it is not, you basically shot down your own argument.

Also, your machine is likely able to run an older Mac operating system than ones just released. That alone is worth something to some people who have software installed that is already obsolete. Read this user tip: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1502615&tstart=0

Every single time there is an update to any Apple product, there are posts like this. Consumer electronics are obsolete the moment they come out - always been that way and always will be that way. Company's R&D is pushing forward continuously, as it should, so anything you buy now will be fairly rapidly eclipsed by something else in short order.\

Does the company that sold you the product owe you anything when they come out with a newer model? IMO, no, not at all. You bought what was available at the time and as long as it performs as it was advertised to, you got what you paid for. Same thing goes for any and every other consumer product you buy - from televisions, computers, cell phones to electric nose clippers. They all are continuously being updated, improved, expanded and enhanced. To expect any company to compensate you so you can be enabled to keep up with the latest and greatest that is available is ridiculous.

And the claim of "loyal customers" is also a lame argument. You were not sworn into some band of brotherhood or secret society - you bought a piece of hardware, a simple consumer transaction that happens millions of times every day for any number of goods and services. And if you don't like the company, its policies or its products, you are entirely free to purchase form a competitor and Apple can do nothing about that either.

You have completely missed the auto analogy, but to address your misguided thinking, yes, almost any product will lose value with age. That is not the point here.

The point is that you are complaining that you had purchased a MacBook Pro in December and you want compensation because a newer model had been introduced at the end of February.

Good luck with that.

Suggesting that your MacBook Pro has lost 50% of its financial value is, to use your own words, stupid, as is the suggestion that Apple should adopt your views on price cuts.

What truly differentiates notebooks is the technology inside. The updates that Apple has made are very minimal as compared to what you have. To go back to the auto analogy, the body has not even changed. It remains the same.

While Thunderbolt is amazing, it is not very usable right now due to the lack of third-party products that support it.

Right now, your MacBook Pro can do everything that the new MacBook Pros can do.

If you really must have a newer MacBook Pro, do what the rest of us do, buy it.

Usually (always before), I have waited until the new models came out and then bought the last one at a discount.

This time, I decided I wanted the newest and best for myself, so I bought just a week or two after the release. Buying right after an upgrade of the line is the only way to have the "latest, greatest" for the maxiumum amount of time.

Undoubtedly, you have had much enjoyment from your MacBook Pro in the time you've had it. Consider that, and recognize the fact that it is the same computer you've been enjoying since December. That hasn't changed.

There are no Apple employees here. If there were, they'd have Apple logos underneath their names. No one is here but other Mac users like you, most of whom either do their homework before buying or accept responsibility for not doing it.