New MacBook Pro Release Coming Soon? Apple Stops Selling Laptops Online

Looks like that new MacBook Pro may be dropping very soon: Customers looking to buy one can't buy one for the next three to five days, at least not online.

9 to 5 Mac first saw the online stall in shipping MacBook Pros, news that's in line with the latest flurry of rumors suggesting Apple plans to release new MacBook Pros as soon as Thursday, February 24th.

Recently, Engadget spotted five new SKUs in the Best Buy system, with prices at $1,199, $1,499, $1,799, $2,199 and $2,499 in the company's online Laptop Configuration tool, each named a "New SKU" with the availability marked as "Coming Soon".

Apple Insider also caught wind that Apple has notified several of its European retailers to expect some "sealed packages" this week, warning them not to open them until told to do so. Apple's move to stall sales of the older MacBook Pro may help stave off the buyer's dismay customers feel when a new model of gadget arrives just after they've purchased the last one.

Comments

[plooger]

10:18 PM on 02/22/2011

The first sign of the Macbook Pro refresh was that Amazon ran out of the 17" model several weeks back.

[DRaymond]

07:03 PM on 02/22/2011

In a maybe related story....
 
Apple has just sent out press invites for an event on March 2nd.  The hitch may be that everybody is speculating that it must be the iPad 2.  Could you imagine their disappointment if it only turns out to be a new version of the Macbook Pro, no matter how good?
 
Which could present something of a problem.  If they include both the new Macbook Pro and the iPad 2 in the same announcement event you can bet that the new Macbook Pro will be lucky to make it into the footnotes of the press coverage.

[dirtytrickz]

02:01 PM on 02/22/2011

This is not news to me. I bought one two weeks ago, thereby pulling in the release of the new macbook pros by a couple of months. Happens every time..

[plooger]

10:19 PM on 02/22/2011

Ha!

Thank you for your sacrifice. And please CC me on your future stock market moves.

[Hiro Shinohara]

01:32 PM on 02/22/2011

I'm planning to buy a MacBook Air within a month but I think I should wait for a while to see more detail of the new MacBook Pro.

[ran6110]

02:22 PM on 02/22/2011

That depends if you are interested in size and weight or power and performance...

Even though I was sure a new MacBook Pro was coming out I still bought the 11" Air. I was after a smaller light weight machine I could carry anywhere.

Now, if you want hard core speed and power for coding, video or audio work then wait for the Pro.

[NHBill]

01:00 PM on 02/22/2011

Never, ever buy an Apple product without checking this page:

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

[ScapeGoat]

02:05 PM on 02/22/2011

Excellent site.

[Blues02]

11:28 PM on 02/22/2011

Was just about to post that link.

[kkrimmer]

12:55 PM on 02/22/2011

HunGirl2012
Didn't a new one come out last year? Or the year before? Every year or two coming out with a new system is way too often. I have a mac and I like it but I'm made to feel like I'm using a computer from the stone age because they come out with new ones so often.
----

I agree I bought a new Camry 2 years ago and they came out with a new one last year and again this year, the nerve!!

[HunGirl2012]

12:50 PM on 02/22/2011

Didn't a new one come out last year? Or the year before? Every year or two coming out with a new system is way too often. I have a mac and I like it but I'm made to feel like I'm using a computer from the stone age because they come out with new ones so often.

[entreMundo]

01:18 PM on 02/22/2011

...please don't do that to yourself. The computer you have is fine and not from the "stone ages." These are machines, not "systems"; it's just the way the industry works, don't let it get you down.

[J0E1]

01:32 PM on 02/22/2011

New models of everything come out just about every year.

[HonestJohnnis]

02:31 PM on 02/22/2011

Yet the hardware goes virtually unchanged.. especially in the mac world.

[Joe Schmock]

12:30 PM on 02/22/2011

I'll stick to my Amiga

[Bogey907]

02:19 PM on 02/22/2011

My TRS80 still worksss jusst fine, except for a ssticky key.

[tbone0726]

12:30 PM on 02/22/2011

Some people hate just because they can!

[redmaple]

12:17 PM on 02/22/2011

They will have white keys. Revolutionary! Beautifull! Genius!

[HunGirl2012]

12:49 PM on 02/22/2011

Great. Those get dirty really easily.

[bleuwolf13]

12:16 PM on 02/22/2011

if they would lower the prices I would love to get a new Macbook Pro ~ but paying $1600 in this economy its not going to happen......

[Shivaji Sengupta]

12:08 PM on 02/22/2011

When we start seeing Mac Pros that are prices closer to PC Laptop prices? This is the next big explosion that is going to happen in the portable world. Once Macs become more affordable no one would buy PCs anymore. I have 3 PC laptops at home and would gladly replace them with Mac Pros if they were at the $600 range.

[jetscan]

12:38 PM on 02/22/2011

Sure, it will happen when you can have a Rolls Royce for Volkswagen prices :-))

[Eris23]

01:02 PM on 02/22/2011

Except, now it's actually the reverse. Apple sells you a Volkswagon at a Rolls Royce price. I recently bought an Asus model that has a Intel Core i7-740QM. That's a quadcore processor which is not available in any of Apple's Macbook Pros. You only have the option of a dualcore at the moment. Perhaps that is abotu to change. My Asus also has 6 gigs of DDR3 RAM, a 500 gig HD, and am Nvidia GTX 460m which blows away the Nvdia GT 320m available in MacBook Pros.

This machine cost me $1300. The prices of Apple models have nothing to do with them actually giving you superior hardware at all. Thus, this "BMW vs. Ford" style analogy that always comes up is completely illogical.

[J0E1]

01:33 PM on 02/22/2011

Seriously?  Apple is like Audi selling VW's with an Audi logo and charging Audi prices.

[sicbus]

12:45 PM on 02/22/2011

Unlikely. If Mac laptops ever hit $600 range, PC laptops will be $200-$300. And taking into account of inflation by then, with stagnant or negative avg salary, people will continue to complain the same thing, "... when macs go down to the cost of pc's, then ..."

[Boubah]

11:56 AM on 02/22/2011

I just tried to order one online at the apple site and YES it's working. This information is factually incorrect.

[HunGirl2012]

12:53 PM on 02/22/2011

The ones online aren't the new ones.

[saltyDevilDog]

11:04 AM on 02/22/2011

If you really want to unlock your Macs hardware potential.. load W7 on it.

[Blackageddon]

11:16 AM on 02/22/2011

I plan to. Boot Camp is a godsend for PC buffs who are hesitant to switch over like myself. It's a 2-in-1 package, especially for those who know how to use uTorrent...

[nevernot]

11:23 AM on 02/22/2011

Benchmarking does not agree with you. I run both as well as Ubuntu and Suse on my mac hardware and linux or BSD based os's routinely wipe up the floors with win7 on any serious usage.

[TheMediaWrangler]

11:57 AM on 02/22/2011

Agreed. Same experience here.

[redmaple]

12:15 PM on 02/22/2011

Sometimes people wants to run something else than their OS on a computer. Heard of software?

[saltyDevilDog]

11:02 AM on 02/22/2011

When it comes to user experience and usability Macs are way ahead. But.. too bad you have to get new software every time they go to a new OS...

[Jim MO PA]

11:11 AM on 02/22/2011

I have a MBP running OSX and I like Windows 7 better. The layout seems more logical to me. I run VMs on the MBP and have to say Windows 7 is just as stable as OSX.

[NHBill]

01:04 PM on 02/22/2011

Huh?