Apple’s price hikes took the industry and customers by surprise, with some buyers thankful that they bit the bullet early and saved nearly $3,000 on their top-end M5 Max MacBook Pro configurations. Sadly, not everyone was fortunate in this regard, but with a little luck and the use of OpenAI’s premium $200 ChatGPT Pro plan, one person successfully purchased a higher-end MacBook Pro and saved more than $2,000 while doing so.
ChatGPT Pro revealed that a cheaper M5 Max MacBook Pro was available from a JD.com seller who forgot to adjust the price
An M5 Max configuration featuring an 18-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 128GB of unified memory paired with a 2TB SSD, and a nano-texture display will currently set you back by $7,149 on Apple’s official U.S. store. Discouraged by the exorbitant prices, Redditor “Altruistic-Dust-2565” decided to make proper use of the $200 ChatGPT Pro as the individual asked the AI chatbot to provide him with links to all the places where he could order the aforementioned configuration at a lower price.
A link was shown that seemed to display a price before the hikes were introduced, leaving the Redditor to believe that ChatGPT Pro was hallucinating. Upon closer inspection, he found out that one of the sellers on China’s JD.com had completely forgotten to update the price, and since it was available in the exact configuration that the buyer wanted, he immediately ordered it.
In just eight hours, the new M5 Max MacBook Pro was delivered, at a price of ¥43,000 or $6,329, which is more than $2,000 cheaper than the same unit available on Apple’s Chinese online store, which is ¥57,124, or $8,408.
“I immediately placed the order, and within 8 hours I had my brand-new MacBook for about ¥43,000 (~US$6,329), while the official Apple China Store charges ¥57,124 (~US$8,408), and the cheapest unofficial sellers are around ¥49,000 (~US$7212) because of import taxes and such.”
An interesting find from the Redditor when searching for the M5 Max MacBook Pro was that going down from 128GB of unified RAM to 64GB and removing the nano-texture option actually increased the price. Whether it was a glitch or some other behavior from the website, it matters little, especially when the Apple customer has obtained the hardware of his choice.
News Source: Reddit
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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