MacBook Air 2022 quite expensive: Apple’s reasons for the high prices | TechBuzz

The new MacBook Air 2022 has actually met all the expectations placed on the new notebook, but when it comes to the price, Apple manages to do it properly – quite expensive, fun. But what are the reasons for Apple’s high prices in Germany? My brief assessment of the problem follows.

An analysis by Sven Kaulfuss.

In the run-up to WWDC 2022, it was clear to me that if Apple presented the new MacBook Air 2022 as the rumor mill predicted, my new Apple laptop would be an Air and no longer a Pro. I still had one small condition: reasonable prices. Well, Apple probably didn’t read my column and therefore studiously ignored the item on my wish list.

MacBook Air 2022: At Apple it’s getting more expensive again

Serious: I have to pay at least 1,499 euros at Apple for the new MacBook Air. If I want the better M2 chip with 10 instead of 8 graphics cores, it will cost another 120 euros. More than the equally updated MacBook Pro with a 13-inch display, tried-and-tested design and the new M2. But this is also 150 euros more expensive than its predecessor at 1,599 euros. Just why?

Beautiful, good and expensive – the new MacBook Air 2022 with M2 chip:

In the USA, on the other hand, the new computers seem to be real bargains, where Apple’s new MacBook Air starts at 1,199 US dollars. According to the current exchange rate, that would only be around 1,123 euros, right? Well, in the equation you did the calculation without the German tax authorities, meaning that the tax is added. So it would be just under 1,337 euros here, but not 1,499 euros? What is Apple doing there? The remaining 162 euros are Apple’s safety margin, which the manufacturer always takes into account. And like seldom before, it was justified.

Europe has a big problem

Things are not looking good for the euro, but the dollar is gaining ground. On the day when the last MacBook Air was introduced (on November 10th, 2020), one dollar was just under 84 euro cents, now it is already 94 euro cents. A development that already existed years ago. And the trend is becoming increasingly clear. The euro is slipping, so not only Apple devices are becoming more and more expensive. Unfortunately, this will not change in the foreseeable future. For the time being, the Ukraine war is one of the causes here and is continuing, Europe’s previous dependence on Russia is now causing high prices on the energy market. The US is in a better position, was and is not as dependent on Putin as we are. Ergo: The dollar is benefiting and imported goods such as Apple products are becoming more expensive.

The successor to the MacBook Pro with a 13-inch display also costs more in Germany:

Regrettable, but unfortunately foreseeable. So it could definitely be worthwhile now to reach for Apple devices whose price calculation dates back to last year, such as an iPhone 13 or an iPad Pro 2021 (view at Amazon), because the successors will almost certainly be significantly more expensive.