Why are macs so expensive?

[Deleted]

It's like life and relationships really. If a guy had a choice between say, 2 girls, one of whom is attractive, and the other not so much, majority of people would choose the most attractive one even if she wasn't as intelligent as you might hope. Apple laptops are that more attractive yet stupid option. Anyone who isn't interested in looks however would forget Apple laptops altogether and find a much better higher spec laptop for the same price or less.

[anb]

One of them is 17". The other ones have 1366x768-panels.

yes basic MBP display has 1440x900 res and better viewing angles, but for a 900$ difference you can buy a 27" 1440p ips monitor. So much for your argument.

[Drunkenvalley]

Too old for me is the HD5770 that they are trying to sell for $250 when it was released at $169 about 3 years ago. Newegg doesn't even sell it anymore.

I assume you're talking about the Mac Pros here, which I agree are pretty lol.


---------- Post added 2012-08-02 at 12:36 PM ----------

It's like life and relationships really. If a guy had a choice between say, 2 girls, one of whom is attractive, and the other not so much, majority of people would choose the most attractive one even if she wasn't as intelligent as you might hope. Apple laptops are that more attractive yet stupid option. Anyone who isn't interested in looks however would forget Apple laptops altogether and find a much better higher spec laptop for the same price or less.

This is such a comically superficial comparison it's funny. This is chasing a redhead vs any other haircolor, ie completely preference, as MBP are attractive, but they're hardly alone about that.

[steveyboy]

My Acer I bought about five years ago had a great performance:cost ratio but lasted less than a year due to poor construction. White screen of death, busted speakers, sub-par cooling for the hardware, bad bad plastic that couldn't even carry the hardware's weight, picking it up with one hand made the whole thing creak.

But it had a great performance:cost ratio and I'm so happy about that, because that is what matters above all else. And I've totally been buying more Acers since. -.-

How did you even go about constructing that sentence...

Strange, my acer I got 3 years ago still works fine and everything thats broke on it is due to me mistreating it. eg keys and a usb port......

I know people whjo have had macs and they have broke within 6 months.

[Wries]

This is cherrypicking with the resolutions involved imo. 1440x900 vs 1366x768 is noticeable, but hardly worth twice the price lol.

132 more vertical pixels are a lot and of great value for many applications. Not to mention the TN panels Apple are using actually have decent color representation and not horrible viewing angles. Don't know about the specifics about these laptops' panels, of course, but the resolution points to cheap.

Not that the screen alone makes up for all of the increased cost but it adds to it together with other factors. Once again it can't be worth it for everyone, even counting in OSX, backlit keyboard, the aluminium body, battery life (the three laptops in that list that had listed their battery life had it at 4 hours) and stuff like that, but I can see how it would be worth it for some. I'd not go for it personally.

---------- Post added 2012-08-02 at 02:45 PM ----------

I know people whjo have had macs and they have broke within 6 months.

When my Acer's screen broke, it got sent to Germany for 1 and a half months of repair. I got it back as broken as it was when it left, but I get that could be me just having bad luck. If my macbook breaks, I know apple will simply replace it for me. Someone else will buy this one refurbished later.

[Deleted]

I assume you're talking about the Mac Pros here, which I agree are pretty lol.


---------- Post added 2012-08-02 at 12:36 PM ----------



This is such a comically superficial comparison it's funny. This is chasing a redhead vs any other haircolor, ie completely preference, as MBP are attractive, but they're hardly alone about that.

Agrees about the Mac pro GPU, but I bet they upgrade them this fall, probably together with the iPhone 5 launch.

[Seirith]

The image argument is invalid. Macs have always been more expensive. I'm 40 and I've been using macs since the 80's, when it wasn't cool to own one and when they made their own printers. The computers just work. I have never had any issues any mac I've owned. I've had plenty with PC's. .

I started out using macs because my brother is a die hard apple fan. When I met my now husband in 1998, he built me a PC. I have never used a mac again. My PC has always worked perfectly, where as we always had problem with our macs. My brother still uses a mac and has issues but swears PC's are horrible.

---------- Post added 2012-08-02 at 01:01 PM ----------

I just bought an HP laptop for a little under $1000. The same exact mac would have cost $2200. I don't understand why anyone uses a mac, unless they are using it for a program that PC's do not offer.

Also, the argument of "they just work" is not valid. Recently I was in best buy looking for a laptop case and MORE than half of the computer sitting at geek squad were Macs. If they "just worked" no one would ever have to have one fixed, no matter how little computer experience they have. All computers can have issues.

[Drunkenvalley]

What with essentially no Apple-only parts in them left, I think it's safe to say that you're going to have as many hardware failures with Apple as any other computer. It's more a matter of how they go about the business when it breaks that is all that relevant.

I for one am really impressed with Corsair for example, and they've got enough components that you can buy virtually a full PC using only them. Alas, I'm not familiar with Apple's support enough to really know if they're worth anything or not.

[isuridedes]

If you are going to buy a mac for things it is meant to do (like photoshop and final cut pro) then its all good.

Adobe no longer creates its Creative Suite for Macintosh platform first, PC second. That used to be the case and was why Adobe products (arguably) performed better on Macs than on PCs, and indeed given similar hardware specifications the performance difference between Photoshop running on a modern PC or Mac is negligible. It's just an outdated argument and I wanted to point that out.

Back to the OPs question though; as with any brand a certain amount of the price is just paying for the brand itself. You see this with name-brand clothing, other high-profile tech manufacturers, even food. That part should come as no great shock. Now there are a few justifications that have been provided in the past for the higher Mac price tag.

• Macs typically depreciate at a slower speed than PCs, even when the hardware is the same. So that Mac you bought for $1,200 in 2012? You can sell for $1,000 6 months later when the newer faster model is out; whereas a PC devaluation rate can be upwards of 60%.
• The hardware components of a Mac are typically of a higher quality. This one is probably the most argued point but since Apple controls their hardware to a much higher degree than PC manufacturers their products typically show a higher grade of quality. Additionally the screens of any mac device are of a much higher quality than you'd find on a standard PC configuration; it's been one of the selling points of the iMac for years.
• Every new Mac is bundled with quite a bit of fully-functional software as well as a fairly comprehensive care package (That can further be extended). A portion of the costs of a new Mac reflect this.

Here are a few links that discuss the whole issue of why Macs are perceived as so expensive, and whether they are truly more expensive than their PC counterpart:

http://www.businessweek.com/debatero...rice_tags.html
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ma...-expensive.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/stories/...nancial-advice
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2010/02/...traight-scoop/

So in the end, what do you choose?

If your bottom line is spending the least amount of money possible; go PC. You're never going to find a Mac at the same low price point you can buy a PC at. If price isn't your bottom line I would recommend checking out OSX at an Apple Store and see if you like it. For most Macintosh users I know the user experience is the selling point; not the price or the bundled software or the depreciation rate.

[haxartus]

I for one am really impressed with Corsair for example, and they've got enough components that you can buy virtually a full PC using only them.

They make other OEMs build the hardware for them and then just put a Corsair label. It's not that impressive.

[mafao]

Here you go
Basic 15" mac pro - 1800usd http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MD103LL/A

other laptops with same, or higher-spec
950 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834246628
900 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215410
1000 usd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230412

note that every laptop here except MBP also carries a decent gaming GPU.

It is ridiculous how they try to charge you additional 100usd for 4gb RAM and 100 usd for 750gb HDD vs 500gb, when actual market price for those things is 25$ and 25-30$ respectively.

Fair enough. I thought that we were talking about 13" machines, however I do agree that the price difference is rather dramatic for 15" laptops and the differences are not that big. Apple will usually has a significantly better screen, longer battery life and a better overall finish (+ Thunderbolt if you are into that). But I do agree that for a majority of users, a $1000 for essentially the same hardware will make more sense. Unless they are using their machine for business and actually need it to last some time without a charger

[haxartus]

So what exactly is a "higher quality hardware" when the components are the same ? Maybe they put a miniature 5x5nm Apple logo on each component that automatically increases the quality of the product by 500% and the price by 300%. The logo also gives the user magical powers that protects them from the influence of other powerful magical beings, like Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer.

[schwarzkopf]

Well - they aren't really that expensive for what you get.

I know up until recently my cheapest option for a pro-Windows Laptop was a Mac Book Pro (until Apple stopped selling them).

[mafao]

It's like life and relationships really. If a guy had a choice between say, 2 girls, one of whom is attractive, and the other not so much, majority of people would choose the most attractive one even if she wasn't as intelligent as you might hope. Apple laptops are that more attractive yet stupid option. Anyone who isn't interested in looks however would forget Apple laptops altogether and find a much better higher spec laptop for the same price or less.

Well, the problem is how you define specs. If you are looking at raw CPU and GPU speed, then sure, you are 100% right. But specs are much more then that (actually, often the raw performance is the last factor). Specs also include the mobility (weight/dimensions/sturdiness), ergonomy (keyboard/trackpad quality) and display. Any laptop that can get around 6-8 hours battery time will be expensive, no matter what brand it is. Look at the cheap laptops. They slap a 610M in it with 2GB DDR3 memory just to artificially raise the specs, even though the Intel integrated GPU is probably quicker on its own.

Of course tastes differ. But in my case, Apple is both the better looking and the smarter 'girl' (yes, these things exists) :P

---------- Post added 2012-08-02 at 01:34 PM ----------

So what exactly is a "higher quality hardware" when the components are the same ? Maybe they put a miniature 5x5nm Apple logo on each component that automatically increases the quality of the product by 500% and the price by 300%. The logo also gives the user magical powers that protects them from the influence of other powerful magical beings, like Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer.

For instance - displays (better panels) and power subsystem (PSU, battery, charger) You can read this review of the iPhone charger, for example: http://www.arcfn.com/2012/05/apple-i...n-quality.html

[Deleted]

So what exactly is a "higher quality hardware" when the components are the same ? Maybe they put a miniature 5x5nm Apple logo on each component that automatically increases the quality of the product by 500% and the price by 300%. The logo also gives the user magical powers that protects them from the influence of other powerful magical beings, like Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer.

Well, they still design some of their own chips and more importantly, they design motherboard layouts themselves which means they pick which parts go on the motherboard. To this day there are still possible weird conflicts with, for example, certain graphics cards not working well with certain motherboards. Rare? Yes, but still a possibility and quite frankly a lot of Wintel OEMs don't really check for this stuff at all (and rarely design their own motherboards and cases to any serious degree, mostly they just grab off-the-shelf parts and slap them together. Once again, not all of them but a lot).

As for the prices, there have been numerous posts in this thread that have thoroughly disproved the mythical "Macs cost three times as much as other computers" myth. If that were the case then you should be able to find computers equivalent to the MBP retailing at $400 (keep in mind that this includes not just raw computational specs but also the form factor, keyboard, touchpad, etc.) and a 27" IPS-screen-equipped all-in-one computer from some other manufacturer with an included BT keyboard and mouse, quad CI5 CPU and all the other things that are in an iMac for $560 or so. Go on, please find me these computers.

[anb]

longer battery life

common sense tells me that battery life isn't really depending on Apple sticker but on hardware used in it. Ofc macbook with Intel HD4000 will last longer than same laptop with Nvidia 660M. But there are plenty of cheap laptops with HD4000 and they last for 8-9 hours on single charge.

For example this HP laptop specified to last up to 9.5 hours and it is still 850$ cheaper than MBP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834158576

[haxartus]

As for the prices, there have been numerous posts in this thread that have thoroughly disproved the mythical "Macs cost three times as much as other computers" myth.

Actually I proved it in several posts and nobody has ever commented on those. The Apple fans just ignore them.

[mafao]

common sense tells me that battery life isn't really depending on Apple sticker but on hardware used in it. Ofc macbook with Intel HD4000 will last longer than same laptop with Nvidia 660M. But there are plenty of cheap laptops with HD4000 and they last for 8-9 hours on single charge.

Yes, this is what I am saying. You need a good battery to have good battery life. Good batteries are expensive. And Apple always uses good batteries, which are small and powerful at the same time. Its not a big achievement to make a 15" laptop without a dedicated GPU last longer (simply because you have more space for the battery, which allows them to use cheaper and bigger batteries). Now show me a cheap 15" with dedicated card AND good battery.

For example this HP laptop specified to last up to 9.5 hours and it is still 850$ cheaper than MBP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834158576

Oh come on, that thing is like 3.2kg and has no dedicated GPU. They can literally fill it with the battery. Thats no comparison at all.

[Samanth]

Worked for both companies. To be fair Apple is quality and the OS is quiet nice. Also Apple works hard to keep customer satisfaction high, Apple is now 12 years in a row the company with the best costumer service.

On the other hand Lenovo... Oh good Lord. The customer service is S***T they dont care for customers neither the quality of the products. The Thinkpads are still the same at they where with IBM. All Lenovo is doing is upgrade the Technology from time to time, but still then they are "old". If your Laptop breaks or arrives broken. Well tought luck, it takes you ages for Lenovo to create the RMA for your Product and even longer for them to pick them up. You wont get you money back for ages and if you ask for a compensation you have to fight for 5% Discount. Welcome to Lenovo Oh and lenovo take roughly 2-4 Weeks to build and ship...

Personally I would get a Mac. But a Mac is not for a "Gamer or casual" Mac are unbeatable for making Music or SFX like After Effects, Photoshop. For college a Dell would even do. You can get a Dell XPS for a better price then any Lenovo for Games.

[mafao]

Actually I proved it in several posts and nobody has ever commented on those. The Apple fans just ignore them.

I think I commented on several of your posts :/