M4 MacBook Pro is sold on the black market before launch

Apple is just weeks away from unveiling multiple M4 Macs and the new iPad mini 7. That’s what all the leaks say, and I have no reason to question them at this point. The M4 MacBook Pro has appeared in a few hands-on videos over the last few days, so there shouldn’t be much doubt that it will be announced soon.

The good news for buyers is that Apple is actually preparing a few exciting upgrades for the base M4 14-inch MacBook Pro that will make it an even better buy than its predecessor. The bad news – at least for Apple – is that someone managed to steal a bunch of these laptops. It’s unclear what the backstory is, but the Russian YouTubers who posted hands-on videos of the M4 MacBook Pro bought the unreleased laptop somewhere.

Some said the M4 MacBook Pro was available through a Facebook group, but the seller apparently went further. The M4 MacBook Pro was sold on the black market in Russia, at least briefly. Spoiler alert: The base M4 MacBook Pro will be a much better value than the M3 variant, but you definitely shouldn’t pay $7,500 for a stolen device.

The biggest upgrade besides the M4 chip is the entry-level RAM expansion to 16GB. That’s twice as much RAM as the base model M3 MacBook Pro. For 16GB of RAM on the current 14-inch model, you’d have to pay an extra $200.

The hands-on videos have both confirmed that the M4 MacBook Pro has 16GB of RAM. We also have a benchmark test from one of the two YouTubers that proves that the laptop has 16GB of memory. Assuming Apple keeps the starting price of the base M4 MacBook Pro at $1,599, it will represent even better value than its predecessor.

The leaks also revealed another upgrade that some users will appreciate. The 14-inch base model has three USB-C ports instead of two. Last year, only the M3 Pro and M3 Max versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro had three Thunderbolt ports.

The Russian leaks also suggest that the M4 MacBook Pro will launch in November, so you won’t have to wait long to get one.

However, Russian buyers will not be able to purchase the notebook so easily. Apple stopped selling products in the region after Russia invaded Ukraine. This explains why anyone with just stolen M4 MacBook Pros would try to sell them to Russian users on the black market. Any Apple products that somehow make it to Russia are sold at a higher price than Apple would charge in the region.

Accordingly MacRumorsA Russian classifieds website showed listings for the unreleased M4 MacBook Pro following the hands-on videos that leaked earlier this week.

The listing mentions the same upgrades as mentioned above, which is further confirmation that this is the same batch of products. The asking price is 720,000 rubles or about $7,500. That’s five times what the M4 MacBook Pro will cost, at least in the US. No one in their right mind should pay that for a MacBook of any kind. But here too, the war in the region will make such lists possible.

The listings also stated that the price would change daily before disappearing from the site. It’s unclear if anyone bought the M4 MacBook Pro from the people posting these deals, and we may never find out. Still, the M4 MacBook Pro theft story must be interesting. Time will tell whether Apple or someone else will explain what happened.

In the meantime, let’s wait back in the real world. Apple is expected to announce the M4 MacBook Pros in the coming weeks. We’re also getting other M4 Macs, although the M4 Air won’t be released until next year. It’s unclear whether Apple will host another press event, but anything is possible.