Apple Switches to Build-to-Order Systems on Its Web Site
5 43"Apple has gone for a choose-your-own-adventure when shopping for a new Mac," writes long-time Slashdot reader esarjeant.
Macworld explains: Apple has shifted from selling pre-configured Mac models to a fully customizable build-to-order system on its website, allowing customers to select display size, chip, memory, and storage options... This change emphasizes building a machine within budget rather than choosing from set configurations, potentially preparing for future CPU/GPU core selection with M5 chips. Third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy are expected to continue offering standard configurations for customers preferring traditional purchasing methods...
Apple is rumored to offer the ability to customize CPU and GPU cores with the upcoming launch of the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models, so this new system could pave the way for more build-to-order options. It could also be a way to âoehideâ smaller price increases as memory and other component costs rise throughout 2026.
5 comments
Re:Just like (Score: 5, Insightful)
by newcastlejon ( 1483695 ) on Saturday January 31, 2026 @04:48PM (#65961530)
Just like Apple has always done, you've always been able to customise what processor/RAM/storage you want. Apple are famous for screwing people over on additional RAM/storage. As far as I can tell the only difference now is that you can change the screen size. When I bought this one last December you chose the screen size then customised it however you wanted.
It's a non-story.
Re:Just like (Score: 5, Interesting)
by dgatwood ( 11270 ) on Saturday January 31, 2026 @05:06PM (#65961552)
Just like Apple has always done, you've always been able to customise what processor/RAM/storage you want. Apple are famous for screwing people over on additional RAM/storage. As far as I can tell the only difference now is that you can change the screen size. When I bought this one last December you chose the screen size then customised it however you wanted.
It's a non-story.
The old system was sometimes confusing as heck. A sane design would have maybe three suggested configurations, but each one would be just setting the values, and you could then tune it further. Instead, with their old setup, what you chose at the beginning also determined which options you could select, which meant that configuring a machine with a particular amount of storage or RAM or CPU speed could require you to go back to the top and try again.
So here's hoping whatever they are doing now is more straightforward.
Re:Just like (Score: 5, Funny)
by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Saturday January 31, 2026 @05:22PM (#65961574)
Dell or Lenovo or basically any PC vendor has for the last 25 years.
Sure but Apple invented it, like they invented touch pads, smartphones and sex and music.
Re:iForgot. (Score: 5, Funny)
by sinkskinkshrieks ( 6952954 ) on Sunday February 01, 2026 @02:49AM (#65962088)
RAM sommelier: We have this well-rested DDR3 Taiwan varietal of a reserve 2010 vintage. It was a particular good year with floral notes and mellow bitterness. While it's pre-loved, it's fully-performant for 20-year-old technology. It happens to be available today only for premium discount pricing subscription members for a limited time for the very low price of $10/GB/day after the $1000 initiation fee and $50/month maintenance and support deluxe package. We think that ownership is too onerous and too much commitment these days and it's more freeing to constantly pay for everything while owning nothing that can be rug-pulled and bricked in an instant.
Macbook TCO Has Skyrocketed (Score: 5, Interesting)
by organgtool ( 966989 ) on Saturday January 31, 2026 @09:25PM (#65961886)
I bought my first and only Macbook Pro in 2006. Over time, I upgraded the RAM to max it out and I upgraded the disk drive several times as storage prices fell. Due to all of this upgradability, I was able to use this as my primary device for fourteen years until the GPU finally crapped out. While I'd never had any issues with the laptop before the GPU died, it was made up of commodity components that could easily be sourced and replaced by skilled technicians at third-party shops. Due to that, I never felt the need to get AppleCare. It will likely go down as the best laptop I've ever owned.
Contrast that with the current Macbooks which can't upgrade the RAM or storage after purchase. This means that if you want to build a laptop that lasts a long time, you need to pay Apple their extortionate fees upfront for RAM and storage as there is no ability to change your mind later. Most of the components can no longer be sourced by third-parties, so you'd better max out AppleCare as well. And after that expires, if any component dies on the motherboard, even a $5 IC or capacitor, your only option is to pay Apple $800-$1500 for a refurbished board since they refuse to replace individual components on the board. And if you maxed out the RAM and storage to future-proof your machine, you'll be paying the upper end of that price range. Also, depending on the component that dies, you may lose all of your data in the process. And that's only if Apple doesn't refuse to service the laptop in the first place. Tally that up, and it's hundreds, maybe well over a thousand, dollars just for future-proofed RAM and storage, hundreds for AppleCare since third-party board repair is virtually impossible, and well over a thousand after that if any component on the board shits the bed after AppleCare expires. Macbooks have essentially become premium disposable laptops.
So while the option to customize your Macbook via build-to-order will certainly alleviate some of the TCO issues that modern Macbooks present, they're still a very far cry from what they were in the mid 2000s and early 2010s. It's a shame because the M-series chips seem pretty great, but I personally can't justify the enormous hike in TCO. But based on their sales numbers, I don't think my priorities mirror the average person and I highly doubt Apple is missing my business.