Related Articles
Sarah Tew / CNET
Apple’s new, lightweight MacBook is now on sale, and it appears consumers may have started to vote with their wallets on their favorite model.
Back orders are the order of the day for the gold-tinted version of the MacBook, in both 256GB and 512GB models. Customers who purchase the gold MacBook from this point on will need to wait three to four weeks before they’ll get their hands on the device. The silver and space gray models are both ready to ship within one to three business days. Apple will also have stock in stores, but it’s unknown how many units of each version will be available in stores.
The MacBook, priced starting at $1,299, isn’t the only Apple product getting attention Friday. There’s also the highly anticipated Apple Watch, which became available for preorders first thing this morning and which is already sold out of its initial stock online. Customers looking to buy an Apple Watch now will need to wait until July to get their devices, and that arrival date may be pushed back even further as time wears on.
Apple unveiled the latest MacBook last month at a press event that also brought details of the launch plans for theApple Watch.
The new MacBook is quite thin, measuring just 0.14 inch at its thinnest point, and weighs 2.03 pounds.It comes with a range of new features for the Mac line, including a Force Touch trackpad that provides improved cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities. It also has a new keyboard technology designed to reduce typing errors and a single USB-C port that handles everything from charging to data transfers to monitor support.
This year’s MacBook is the first in Apple’s notebook line to come in a gold model. The others are available in the standard silver.
It’s unclear why the gold MacBook is harder to come by, whether the supply is short, period, or demand is intense for the gold model.
Regardless, the MacBook seems to be following a pattern set by the iPhone, which has featured a gold version for the last couple years. The gold versions have been hard to come by when new iPhone models launch and remain so for a period of time after the device’s launch. By the look of things, MacBook will be following that lead.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
