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. 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.
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. 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.
It’s certainly possible that more of these displays will be available in December, but if the 2013 roll-out of the Mac Pro is an example of this type of ploy, I doubt there will be many available. And that discount? Ha, the laugh’s on you.
(Tim Cook famously said that the new Mac Pro would be released before the end of 2013. It was, indeed, on December 19, but only a handful of units shipped at that time. It took months for this computer to become widely available.)
Like those AirPods, that were supposed to ship in October… They were pushed back, and pushed back again, and they may ship before Christmas.
Apple is finding it increasingly difficult to ship anything other than iPhones. It makes customers feel like rubes, when the company announces a product and can’t deliver for months. And it makes Apple look like a bunch of amateurs, when they announce a shipping date and can’t meet it. And it looks like Tim Cook, reputed to be a master of the supply chain, can’t manage the company’s production any more.
Above all, it’s an annoyance for customers who need to upgrade their hardware, only to find that the latest, best devices can’t be bought. Like the new MacBook Pro, which is showing 3-4 weeks for shipping…
Apple should stop this, and only announce products when they know they can ship them.