“When Apple introduced the new MacBook Pro, they made much ado about the LG UltraFine 5K display that they were selling on their website, and would eventually sell in their retail stores,” Kirk McElhearn writes for Kirkville. “They explained how it’s the prefect companion to the MacBook Pro for pro users who want to connect lots of devices.”
“It is a pretty good looking display. It’s got three Thunderbolt 3 ports, can charge the MacBook Pro, and has speakers and a camera. Apple even discounted the display by 25%, for a limited time, to sort of apologize for the high price of the MacBook Pro,” McElhearn writes. “The only problem is that you can’t buy one.”
“At some point yesterday, this display went on sale on Apple’s website, but it seems to have sold out in minutes,” McElhearn writes. “Apple is pulling a bait and switch, telling MacBook Pro – and other – users that they can get this great display, but not allowing them to buy it. They rolled out this “special pricing […] for a limited time,” but that time will end, I believe, at the end of December.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As McElhearn writes, Apple should “only announce products when they know they can ship them.”
Sometimes Apple, the world’s most profitable and most valuable company, still operates as if they only have five guys from NeXT working around the clock trying to do all the work on a shoestring budget.
Can’t manage to have a compatible Remote app or Apple Music-capable Siri for the Apple TV launch… Can’t have enough Pencils and Keyboards for the iPad Pro launch. Seriously? Can’t have any stock on hand for two months after the so-called the Apple Watch launch date. Can’t update their professional Mac for nearly two years and counting?
Why are these amateurish mistakes and lapses happening with startling regularity? You know, besides mismanagement?
Oh, you say, but Apple is making tons of money! Why, yes, they certainly are!
Listen, let’s be honest, Steve Ballmer could’ve generated the same kind of money “running” Apple Inc. given the massive momentum Steve Jobs handed over at his death. Sometimes, in fact, it looks like Steve Ballmer is running Apple. Although, no, it doesn’t really, because even Ballmer would have updated the Mac Pro by now, made sure he had enough Apple Watches ready so as not to pretty much totally kill launch momentum, and also had enough Pencils and Keyboards on hand for the iPad Pro launch. Of course, Ballmer would have never had the handle on the big picture that Tim Cook has – our issues with launches under Cook have to do solely with launch supplies and software polish.
We’re coming up on two years now (this December 19th) since the Mac Pro debuted with no updates which, along with the rest of the string of snafus (going back to John Browett, Apple Maps, no iMacs for Christmas 2012, no iPad 2 units for launch, etc.), is what understandably prompts this sort of “joke” and “failure” talk and the feeling that Apple is a bit sloppy in recent years.
We hold Apple to a high standard and we expect the company to execute better than they have of late. (read more) — MacDailyNews, November 27, 2015
SEE ALSO:
Apple is missing out on holiday sales of Air Pods – November 25, 2016
Whatever happened to “real artists ship”?
Apple will shut down production/shipping when they find a fault with a product and can’t fix it right away.
That is exactly opposite of what Samsung did with their infamous smoking hot cell phone.
More rabid Tim-hating MDN anonymous Troll bait.
While the frustration of not being able to buy something you want is annoying, it’s not a “bait and switch”. That would imply that apple deliberately announced the 5k display, and then refused to sell it, instead selling you something else… that’s not what’s happening. They just didn’t make enough, and LG was late in shipping the product. While frustrating, not bait and switch.
Yeah, the kids today… not knowing what bait and switch means 🙂
But, by next year, just like “literally”, bait and switch will be redefined to match what people now may think it means. Which means that “pulling a fast one” and “bait and switch will be synonymous… until they change the meaning of pulling a fast one!
I do not agree with McElhearn assertion that “…Apple even discounted the display by 25%, for a limited time, to sort of apologize for the high price of the MacBook Pro.” If that were the driving reason, then Apple would have reduced the prices of the new MBPs, as it did soon after the release of the original iPhone. Apple discounted the new LG displays because their prices were perceived as excessive. Whether or not the price reduction is truly for a limited time or becomes permanent remains to be seen. Apple may find it difficult to allow this early discount to expire. In any event, if supplies of the monitors are constrained during the discount period, then I would expect Apple to adjust the deadline appropriately. To do otherwise would be foolish, as it would spur the wrath of valued customers. Witness the outrage and name-calling already in progress over the mere threat of such an event.
Far too many people have developed hair-trigger responses to these types of situations. Without even knowing the reason behind it, they react with outrage to a perceived injustice or slight. Any inequality is perceived as being unfair. Every situation is contrasted to the ideal and is inevitably found lacking in some way. People need to get some perspective and cultivate some patience.
If the supply of the new LG 5K monitors is constrained, then Apple will likely extend the deadline for the discount. If not, then be certain to post your order with Apple before the deadline arrives so that you receive the discounted price.
And relax! There are much more important things in this world than saving 25% on a 5K monitor.
I think “rainchecks” would help here.
Bait and switch is when you open up an MDN article, begin reading it, and then suddenly a samsung commercial pops up on your phone without you having actually come anywhere near clicking on it to view it. Over. And over. And over. And over.
VERY simple fix…TURN OFF JAVASCRIPT!!
Very insecure anyway
At the present time, turning off Javascript is the only way I can get MacDaily News to load at all in any of my browsers. WTF kind of code is in their page?
Amen to that. Plus not being able to actually type a reply on an iOS device because of constantly rotating ads that think they are more important than I am.
And let’s not forget ads that decide you are not allowed to continue to stream Apple Music while viewing MDN pages
Tim Cook really need to drop his political agenda and start focusing on the apple’s customers agenda.
We are paying premium prices for the great products they deliver, it is only fair that they treat their loyal customers on a loyal way.
Only MDN and commenters truly know how to properly run the largest company in the world. They are very tired of Apple’s poor performance. They are actually victims of Apple’s ineptitude. Poor MDN – always whining – never winning.
Maybe he could get a rain-check on that monitor?
Apple Store says Available December. Perhaps it will become available to order on the 1st.
I am actually NOT buying one of these displays. This article got one thing incredibly wrong, which is reason enough to skip the display altogether: there are NOT 3 Thunderbolt 3 ports which would have made it great for connecting lots of devices and daisychaining. There is only ONE Thunderbolt 3 port. The rest are only USB-C. Next…
Maybe you just need to buy some USB-C to Thunderbolt 3 adapters.
Thunderbolt 3 vs USB-C would basically be a similar situation as DisplayPort vs Thunderbolt 2, or USB 2 vs USB 3. There’s no adapter, it’s a universal port. The problem is in the lack of capabilities that comes with a port only designed for USB-C vs one designed for Thunderbolt 3. What you suggested makes no sense.
Ah, didn’t realize they were both USB-C type connectors. My mistake. Reading the description of the monitor elsewhere it appears to have 4 USB-C type ports only one that is Thunderbolt 3 as you say. Perhaps LG is following Apple’s example of ‘encouraging’ purchase of a separate Thunderbolt 3 hub.
@ MDN Take
Yes, in fact Steve Ballmer made sure he had so many Surface tablets at launch that they are now occupying landfills.
Oh, and don’t forget that nearly 1$ billion write-off.
A Joint project between Apple And LG according to Phil
…yet there is no Apple Logo or ANY Hint of Apple design theme there…
imo……Big mistake by Apple to approach monitors in such a secondary way.. reducing Apple Logo and Design Theme’s Visibility at high end desktop computing.
It seems Apple is adament to kill its image at the Highend Pro level Computing.
Bewildering!
and if i may yet be redundant again and repost this..
pros are Always a small minority…. but their opinion has a huge weight on credibilty of a computing platform .
its wrong of Apple to overlook this !
its not all about dollor and cents on every product… some items are meant to be iconic of a companies prowess.
in In Apples case .. Computing. They have to offer the best of the best in every category/front .. NO HOLES … to justify their premiums .
i hate to see increasing chatter that the best and most powerful computeing hardware are not Apple anymore.
that was not the image or the chatter a few years back.
Got mine! I was actually in the airport in Houston, saw a note on a website that it was available. I hopped onto airport wifi and bought it…says 6 – 8 week “window” to arrive between 16 – 30 Jan. Wonder if this is real or if Apple will cancel on me because it was an accident.
Y’all remember those marketing studies that rank who has the most valuable brand? Remember how Apple has always been ranked well? Well with moves luke this, i see Apple destroying its brand caché. Think about it: the ecosystem contines to shrink, with Apple just giving up on product after product. What used to be best value brand is now abandoned, late, stale, overpriced, or all of the above.
Aperture
ITunes
IMovie
Airport
Displays
Mac Pro
Mail
IPods
Mac mini
Mac Server
IOSification of OS X
All the things that Apple used to do well have been ignored, outsourced, and marginalized. Meanwhile the Cooked Apple flounders around with a me-too iCloud subscription computing push, Dre’s music subscription, poor performing overpriced plastic headphones, car and building money pits, stock pump games, and feature removal from all the hardware Apple makes. All funded by an iOS store that looks and feels more and more like Apple takes it for granted, skimming off the profits from cheesy games while Apple itself is releasing mediocre software at best.
Cook is leading Apple to be cash rich in the short term and irrelevant in the long term. A company like Amazon, which many here love to hate, seems to be reinvesting every dime it makes into new products and services, many of them business class stuff. Apple in 5 years has gone from a leader to a laggard in almost everything it does. Don’t be surprised when Apple decides to kill off your preferred products, whether that is a 4″ phone or a 17″ laptop or a 30″ display– all because the bean counters who run Apple now don’t give a shit about your user experience.