“Apple will provide a free upgrade to Mac OS X 10.7 to all customers who purchase a new Mac notebook or desktop before Lion ships next month,” Gregg Keizer reports for Computerworld.
“The Mac OS Lion Up-to-Date program will allow people who buy a new machine between June 6 and Lion’s release date to download the operating system free-of-charge, Apple said in a statement this week,” Keizer reports. “Like others who take Apple up on the Lion upgrade, the free copy will be available only through the Mac App Store, the online e-market Apple launched last January.”
Keizer reports, “On Monday, Apple announced that Lion would ship next month and cost $29.99. Users must request the free upgrade within 30 days of purchasing a new Mac; the deal closes 30 days after Lion is released.”
More info in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “FTB” for the heads up.]
I’m glad for the free update, but as an Apple reseller I’m disappointed that there are no details on how to go about getting the update.
“Check back in July for details on the OS X Lion Up to Date program.”
This kind of sucks. It will make people less inclined to purchase a new Mac NOW. A percentage of people are going to say, “I’ll wait until I see the details”.
this is nothing new though.
Apple is probably just ironing out the details, why publish something that they will need to change later. the fact that you can get it free, should be enough.
May just be lawyers going over the fine print.
I just got my mom to buy a mini on the 8th, was gambling on apple doing this.
My guess, apple will use the date of registration when you setup the mac to email you a link to a code for you to redeem for a copy of lion. (or the code itself in an email, tied to your AppleID) Like redeeming an iTunes card, or Gifted app.
Come on, it’s Apple.. not like you will have to jump through rings of fire 18 times with both your hands tied, and one foot cut off. oh yeah, and blindfolded.
I think that people that want to buy a new mac.. but just said “i’ll wait till Lion is out” can now just buy the Mac and get Lion for free next month. as a retailer you should just tell people not to worry, you will get Lion Free next month. They have to have an AppleID to get Lion, so best guess is it’s going to have to deal with an AppleID and/or a reciept.
MS made you jump through a couple of easy hoops to get the Free upgrade to Win 7 if you bought a PC after a certain date. (or bought a Vista OS disc) I did it.. wasn’t hard. you had a code, went to the MS site after a certain date and put it in. verified your address. and waited for a month for the disc.. And that was MS… they don’t do anything easy.
a QUICK 2 minute search turned up this PDF from the Snow Leopard up to date form…
http://bit.ly/jWWXdZ
not going to be this route, but i bet similar info will be needed.
It is good to know though.. when I bought my iMac.. about a week later they updated to iLife ’11 (iPhoto, iMovie etc).. Apple didn’t charge me the full price, but they still charged everyone like $6 or so.. I can’t remember but it wasn’t free. Good to see they will be giving Lion away free though!
You assume that people don’t think there’s a difference between getting it preinstalled vs doing it themselves.
I have to tell you, a significant number of customers I’ve dealt with do think there’s a difference, no matter how many times you tell them there isn’t. I’ve even had one customer return their mac because it was “out of date” and was very angry at us for selling them an “out of date” product because there was a “new version” out. Lots of people really mistrust OS updates and don’t want to have to do it on a brand new machine.
My question, though, is different. They said the update must be requested within 30 days of purchasing your mac. Does that mean that Lion is coming out in early July? Because otherwise, if you bought your Mac June 6th, and Lion comes out July 10th, you wouldn’t be able to get the update because you didn’t request it within 30 days.
Alternately, you could request it shortly after purchase and then get it when it comes out… but they haven’t provided the method for doing so yet! What am I supposed to do… tell all my customers to keep checking back every week to see if Apple has provided the request method yet? If they wait more than 30 days they’re SOL.
Every previous OS update I’ve experienced with Apple had more like a 90-day window after purchase to make your request, which is much more reasonable. 30 days just makes it seem like they are deliberately trying to screw people out of being eligible.
The article clearly states 30 days after LION is released.
Who you kiddin’.
There is NO problem. Yet you make it out as if there is one. Worst comes to the worst (which it won’t) it’s still only $30 to get the frickin upgrade anyway. By no means a dealbreaker on buying a new Mac.
Say what you want Paul, but I’ve already heard people say they will wait until they get more details. I said a %, not all.
Right, a percentage of customers are certified morons. This shouldn’t be news to anyone. Apple never has and never will tailor their offerings to satisfy the dimmest bulbs in the box.
It is a $29.99 update. If people wait to purchase a new Mac even after Apple has promised the Lion update for free, then they need to have their heads examined.
A lot of people don’t understand the concept of an OS upgrade and would rather it be done for them, no matter how simple/painless you tell them it is. Plus, that way, any problems they experience can be blamed on the people who did the upgrade.
I’ve had customers who are adamant about having their iPads work before they leave the store. They want nothing to do with syncing them to their computer to make them operational. Many people do not want to experience upgrading an OS either.
As a reseller it would be nice to make things as simple and reassuring for the customer as possible. It would be nice to be able to provide people with clear instructions, a form etc. For the next 2-3 weeks all I can tell people is to check the “up to date” site in a few weeks.
It’s not like Apple didn’t have time to iron on the details of the “up to date” program before the announcement.
…That’s a supid and arrogant statement. $30 is $30, and in this economy, if someone want to hold out spending some money on a device where they feel they miss out on a updae they may have to pay for, they are just careful and smart.
Well I bought mine May 6th, one month too soon….I feel rightfully violated…(nevermind I knew it was imminent…)
Attica! Attica!!!
So is there an actual new macBook coming out. Or is it just the lion software. So if I get the MacBook Pro right now and get the free upgrade it will be the same thing as when it comes out in July?
MBP was updated earlier in the year. there won’t be a new one this year.
so yeah if you get a MBP now with thunderbolt, you can get the lion OS update free when it hits next month. which will be the same as if you purchased a new MBP with Lion pre installed.
it’s so funny, you get os with paying $1000++ ? what a joke…
all PC with windows can do anything that mac can do… and much better…
>all PC with windows can do anything that mac can do… and much better…
Aside from your simplistic trolling, you obviously have been taking way too much medication lately.
you know you are correct.
Windows DOES do Virus and malware SO MUCH BETTER than Mac… i really need to switch back to Winblows.
And to think the SAME hardware i purchased 3 years ago, STILL runs great and actually faster than when new… yeah i wasted my money with Apple. cause Windows speeds up the longer you use it right?…
What world do you live in? Are you serious?
I was a Windows user for 15 years, finally I am rid of a truly badly designed product since inception. Love my new Mac. I would of had to upgrade to the new windows , when I bought the new laptop, that would of been a Mac want to be!
Looks like you didn’t understand the headline. That’s ok I expected you to have low IQ.
Let me simply the headline for you and see if you can get it in your head. Ready? Ok.
“Think of it as buying a PC that is windows 8 ready.” In this case think of it as buying a Mac that will be “Lion” ready. So, what that means is that all Mac’s will come with Free Lion OS after it is released. Until then they come withe lthe latest Snow Leopard with a free upgrade to Lion.
Get it NOW Thicko?
look, iSheep will happy to get free OS, but you should paying thousands bucks to get it. LOL
English mothafu#%a; do you speak it!?
Hilarious!!!
No, just 30 bucks. Gladly. Knowing that I can update ALL my my Macs for so little. And gaining so insanely much.
English mothaf%#%ka;do you speak it?
I so agree with News Flash!!
I just got the latest Mac mini for $699
Eat your heart out, trollboi
And what are you, an iTroll? Get a life and a Mac.
mac trick or treat again, free upgrade with buying new macs ? oh, LOL
Yeah, I know. Wincrap users are not used to this. They thankfully blow a pile of cash up to MonkeyBoy Ballmer arse for the newest bag of hurts which doesn’t improve anything and a collection of bugs. Window user seem to be real masochists.
And we Mac users are sadists for reminding pc fanbois how sh*tty ther lives are lol
typo… I meant ‘their’ lives
Wow, the Windows trolls are out full force today…
Ya I totally agree with you. I am switching to a Mac in about two weeks!
Having fun paying $200 for Windoze 8, the big ocho or is that oucho? oh, LOL
Personally, I would like the option to buy the New 10.7 Lion OS on a DVD Disc. This downloading from the App Store is utter B.S. in my opinion. It would take me hours to down load it with my slow internet connection.
Come on APPLE, give us an option to buy it like we did with Snow Leopard and etc.
I agree with you in that a DVD is a better solution. However, there is a good chance that we will be able to burn the dmg of 10.7 onto a DVD. The developer preview I have now is burnable, and I don’t see why they would change that.
do you ever sleep?
As I am in the unfortunate position of having to run one of my main apps for my business under Rosetta, I am glad my new 27″ iMac came with Snow Leopard.
I am hoping a good work-around will show up soon so I can enjoy the benefits of Lion. It looks fantastic but without Rosetta I am stuck in the lair of the Snow Leopard.
Partition your new iMac, one with Snow Leopard and one for the new Lion. Use the Lion partition except for your app. I do that right now with a PPC machine and two partitions, one Tiger (for Classic) and one Leopard.
Just curious … which app?
Those who paid a renewal this year for MobileMe should also get a free Lion upgrade.
No, Apple would rather just KEEP screwing over the chumps who fell for MobileMe.
Now that’s a good idea! It would take a bit of the sting out of the $99 for two months of service.
If my account represents all accounts, the last renewal charge was in 2009. It’s been free for me since then.
I enjoy to read this mac rumor news I would like to know more information about apple events in future.
MMMmmmmm Spam.
I love MobileMe. It got off to a rough start, but it has been tuned, buffed and polished and become an essential and valuable service. I’m glad it will be free and available to all.
(1) Can’t you install Rosetta like on Snow Leopard if needed?
(2) If you buy a refurb Mac from the Apple store do you get the same offer to upgrade to Lion?
No support for Rosetta in Lion is the official word.
As for (2), I’ll let you know after Tuesday when my wife’s refurb iMac arrives.
Frankly, I’d be a bit surprised if it qualifies, newness-wise, but it does come with a regular 1-year warranty, so it might.
I am buying a new iMac within a month I know I will get the free upgrade but, I wonder if I could put it on my MBP. How would that work? I know you can put it onto five machines. I will be trying to burn it onto a DVD.
If anyone of the posters here actually knew how Apple normally operates (when it comes to OS updates), you’ll likely know that:
Everyone who buys a Mac from now on will get an upgrade to Lion as soon as it is available, for free.
That upgrade will also be available on physical media, upon special request. They may ask for some relatively small shipping and handling charge to deliver it to you. It most likely won’t be available in the stores, though.
It will be possible to put that downloaded version of Lion on physical media. It will also be able to install it on any other Mac without restrictions.
Apple heavily counts on good karma. Thus, very little restrictions on what you can do with their software. This has been the case with practically ALL of their software; from iLife, to iWork, FCP, Logic Studio, etc, to the OS.
Agree.
How many computers will Microsoft allow you to upgrade with 1 software purchase?
Three, if you buy their family pack upgrade (for Win7 Home Premium, this was $199 rather than $129 CDN). Apple has had a similar deal with a 1-pack or 5-pack historically, though they have ditched it for Lion.
Lion, $30 of the best OS in the world on a Mac.
AV software at least $30 on a PC
Lion is still far from ready for prime time, from what I’ve seen. If it is indeed released next month, I myself will wait for a couple of point updates before unleashing the beast on my computer.
Good move. A couple of weeks ago I sped up the purchase of a Mac just to avoid having it come loaded with Lion. Just by chance I happened to buy it on June 6th, before I knew about the date restriction. I put 3 partitions (300Gb/100/100) on the new Mac and might try Lion on one.
Bought my Performa 6360 in 96 or 97 with OS 7.6 and I think I had to mail in for an OS8 disk for something like $10 in the day. Apple really has no obligation to provide the brand new OS, it’s just something it’s always done and I remember it being a class move. Something MS followed in it’s newer rollouts.
Can’t Waite , since I’ve got my Mac in Dec
I’ve never been so glade, I really do not use
Window (To slow). Still learning from it, but it’s a smoother OS.
Thanks Steve & all of you at Mac.
Steve K
The article is not actually correct. The writer should have done his research:
1 – if you buy a Mac from June 6 to the release date of Lion, you will have 30 days from the release of Lion to claim your upgrade
2 – deal will not end 30 days from release of Lion
3 – after release of Lion if you buy a Mac without Lion you will have 30 days from the purchase of that Mac to claim your upgrade. That is so resellers can clear out their existing inventory.
“The Mac OS X Lion Up-To-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 6, 2011. Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computer. Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac between June 6, 2011 and the date when Lion is available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from Lion’s official release date to make a request.”
Here is Apple’s press release on the matter: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/06/06lion.html
Much ado about nothing!
i bought my mac on july 1. 🙁 to bad for me
>all PC with windows can do anything that mac can do… and much better…
Awesome! I was thinking about getting a mac just for the unix environment. It’s reassuring to know I can do that on windows. Wait a sec, the only option is to use the POS “windows powershell?”
Maybe if I knew jack **** about computers I’d agree with you. I don’t mind the crappy processor on my macbook air or the price tag since apple obviously spent a great deal of time optimizing their software for specific hardware.
Some tasks (like opening a very large PDF) seem to go several orders of magnitude more quickly on my macbook air than on a comparable windows machine.
And I can write BASH shell scripts to automate tasks. Try that on windows, noob.
I am very upset. I bought my mac during these days and no one at apple told me at the time that I could do this. I wish I could get reimbursed for my purchase of lion. But Apple really should have told more people of this.