Pylimitics

We’ve got a couple of months before Things Change Bigly, and one of the things that’s likely to happen (based on statements made more than once) is that prices of a lot of things are going to go up — sometimes way up. The specific things I’m thinking about right how are personal computers, and even more specifically than that, Apple products.

All Macs (at this point all computers) are products of global supply chains, and there’s a good chance that the “global” parts might get hefty tariffs applied next year. Some of the tariff figures being tossed around (granted, it’s just talk so far) are as high as 20%. Historically, that sort of thing has had profound unwanted side effects, but even in the shorter term, it’s likely that prices of, say, an M4 MacBook Pro (just introduced, and probably the one to get) is going to go up. Today’s price range is starts at $1,599.00 for the 14-inch screen with better base-model specs than Apple has ever offered to $3,999.00 for the maxed-out 16-inch screen version that’s far more powerful than most people need (if you need it, you know). I would add a few things like the “nano-texture” display (fancy marketing bafflegab for “nonreflective”). Tariffs are going to get added right to the prices we pay for things, so in just a few months that price range could jump to about $2,000 – nearly $5,000. 

That’s a big jump. And it might happen faster than you’d expect; many manufacturers raise prices in advance of things like tariffs actually taking effect. So if you’re in any need of upgrading your systems — in the next few years! — or if you expect that the broader historical consequences of tariffs are likely to take effect and we’ll be more worried about standing in bread lines over the next decade or two, maybe it makes sense to think about upgrading now.