Okay, here’s my take on the “will release of m4 drop the price of m3” topic, written in the style of a personal blog post:
So, I’ve been pondering this whole M4 chip release and what it’s gonna do to the M3 prices. I mean, it’s basic economics, right? New shiny thing comes out, old thing gets cheaper. But how much cheaper? That’s what I wanted to figure out.
First, I scoured the internet. I read a bunch of articles. And most articles said the offical price will not get cut. It is very likely to happen.
Then I checked some price-tracking * know, the ones that show you the price history of products. I picked a few popular M3 MacBook models and started tracking their prices like a hawk.
- M3 MacBook Air (base model)
- M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch (base model)
- M3 MacBook Pro 16-inch (mid-range config)
I set up alerts so I’d get an email whenever the price changed. This was key, because I didn’t want to be refreshing pages all day long. My time is valuable, people!
My Observations
For a few weeks, nothing. Prices stayed pretty stable. It was kind of boring, to be honest. I almost gave up, thinking maybe this whole “new model drops old model price” thing was a myth.
Then after Apple’s WWDC keynote, BAM! I got a flood of email alerts. The prices hadn’t plummeted, but there were definitely some drops.
The biggest drops I saw were on refurbished models. Makes sense, right? Retailers want to clear out that “old” inventory. We’re talking like 15-20% off in some cases. That’s not chump change!
For brand-new M3 models, the discounts were smaller, more like 5-10%. Still, a saving is a saving. And if you’re patient, you might snag an even better deal in a few months as retailers get more desperate to move those M3s.
My takeaway? Yeah, the M4 release will likely put downward pressure on M3 prices. Don’t expect miracles, but if you’re smart and patient, you can definitely save some money. Keep an eye on those refurbs, and don’t be afraid to wait a bit. Your wallet will thank you!