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AirThis

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2012
518
14
I compared the price of my rMBP with a Lenovo which had similar specs. The price was roughly the same. Ditto for the Dell Precision Mobile Workstation.
 

makaveli559m

macrumors 6502
Apr 30, 2012
312
0
To be quite honest, I don't think Mac's are getting more overpriced. I think they're starting to offer more for the money, now, than they used to with their products.

I've also noticed that to buy similar specced laptops from many other well known manufacturers, you're paying approximately the same price.

I find that even when there is something of a price disparity, the customer service standard I've experienced with Apple blows away just about every other company.

I doubt they are offering more for the money, a high resolution screen doesnt scream more to me. More ports and optical drive is more to offer and more if they had the Retina screen with the classic. A classic MacBook Pro is still pretty thing what is all this obession with something paper thin?
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,183
19,030
I agree the experience has been good with an MBP for a year now,i was just wondering if there are any windows computers offering a similar experience:)

There are some very nice Windows-based laptops (such as the Lenovo X1 Carbon), but their cost is comparable to retina MBP's.

----------

More ports and optical drive is more to offer and more if they had the Retina screen with the classic. A classic MacBook Pro is still pretty thing what is all this obession with something paper thin?

I think currently there are more people that care about weight/mobility more than about having this and than number of ports. The retina MBP is unique in a way how much power/mobility/battery life it offers in one package. I am not aware of any other laptop that would have comparable power characteristics with such a low weight. The rMBP performance is comparable to current gaming laptops while its mobility/battery life rivals many ultrabooks.
 

Ploki

macrumors 601
Jan 21, 2008
4,308
1,558
I was looking for a comparable performance samsung/hp laptop, and to be honest, there is not much to choose from.

HP EliteBook 8770W for example is pretty impressive, Quadro K5000M with 4GB of Vram, has 4 memory slots, 2 internal drives, additional upgrade bay...
But it doesn't have neither thunderbolt neither proper firewire.

Samsung Series 9 is just expensive, and crap.

But compared to Retina, Classic unibody is overpriced... Ridiculously. IF you configure RAM/HDD at apple. I guess Apple realized that most people don't customize their laptop on their page and adjusted retina prices accordingly.
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
19,551
21,993
Singapore
Well, if we assume Apple doesn't overcharge their products, then how come they constantly have the highest profit margins in the industry?

That's probably because other companies haven't yet figured out how to manufacture a similar product at the same cost price, or lower. Overcharging is also a fairly subjective term; it may be better to just ask yourself "Do you think you are getting your money's worth?"

For me, the answer is yes. You can't appreciate a macbook air's responsive trackpad until you have used a fujitsu tablet PC with a temperamental trackpad which periodically causes the cursor to randomly jump to other parts of the screen while you are typing halfway, or begins to malfunction after waking from sleep (the cursor will get stuck in one corner of the screen in left-click mode, necessitating a restart).

Even seemingly innocuous features like finder don't seem to work as well on windows (or at least, they aren't as fast, or let me launch apps as quickly).

As a teacher, I am also getting good mileage out of features such as airplay mirroring. I haven't touched my school-issued laptop or utilised my classroom's interactive whiteboard except for when I need to retrieve files from my network drive, and thanks to all the bloatware installed inside, the process is probably akin to being castrated with a rusty spoon (not that I would know, of course).:p

So to me initial question, my apple products are probably my best investment to date in my job. :)
 

Ploki

macrumors 601
Jan 21, 2008
4,308
1,558
I wholeheartedly agree with Abazigal.

MacBook Pro offers a well-rounded experience, it's not all about the power-source, especially if it's not optimized and on a laptop.

Think about cars - you can have a very fast engine but if you put it in a truck, it will not go fast (or run cheap)

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/982515
(i picked the highest bench)
and similarly spec-ed HP 8770W as the top-notch retina scores as high as 2.3ghz retina...
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/1395226
 

vpro

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2012
1,195
65
late 2011 models

just get the late 2011 17" macbook pros. they're the best and toughest out there still. ^_^
 

Dr. McKay

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2010
818
112
Belgium, Europe
I always buy used Macs so I'm quite ok with the price. On the lookout for a 2011 MB Pro now to replace my 2008 iMac.

Some non-Apple laptops look nice (HP Envy, Lenovo Thinkpad) and if I ever were to consider buying one of these, I would switch to Ubuntu in the process. Windows isn't bad, it's just that it doesn't feel 'right'. Been working on my wife's Dell for a couple of days and the interface just feels 'unnatural'...
Perhaps that's because I've been a Mac user for over 13 years so I might be 'set in my ways'...

----------

just get the late 2011 17" macbook pros. they're the best and toughest out there still. ^_^

Too bad you can't run SL on them...
 

Valkyre

macrumors 6502a
Dec 8, 2012
525
410
I would agree that some apple products are overpriced (iphone/ipad) but the computer line is solid.

In fact in some cases I consider them... quite...a bargain. For example the 15 inch retina macbook pro base model is really a bargain.

Try to find another laptop with such specs (SSD, Retina Display, overclocked 650M, quad core i7 8gb RAM) at such a price... it really sounds like a very expensive machine, but for what you get, nothing else comes even close to it.

In fact if you look at the alternatives you will pay pretty much the same price minus SSD minus Retina.

So I think if you look carefully you will realise that apple offers some of its computers in very very competitive prices.
 

mslide

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2007
707
2
There's this one huge problem that all Windows laptops have... they don't run OSX.

Seriously though, no I don't think most Apple products are overpriced. Some, yes (e.g. 13" rMBP and all Macs that have had their RAM/HDD upgraded by Apple) but not most. Most of the 'Macs are overpriced' type comments I tend to hear come from people not making apple-apples comparisons. For example, comparing a 27" iMac against a custom built PC without a 27" hi-rez monitor (and not considering the cost of Windows), or a Mac Pro vs a custom built PC not built using server-grade parts, etc. When you consider build quality, OSX and all the other nice-to-haves (the great trackpad), Macs are a good value for me.
 

Haifisch

macrumors regular
Nov 19, 2012
184
20
What would you pay to not see this every other day for the next 5 years?
 

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Interstella5555

macrumors 603
Jun 30, 2008
5,219
13
Hi guys,
Just wanted to know if given a chance anyone would consider buying a windows laptop the next time,,





Regards,

:)

Everyone currently has that choice and can load Windows on their Mac. That said, I don't buy Macs for the overpriced hardware, I buy them for OS X and the knowledge that the OS was built for the hardware it's running on. When Apple starts slipping I'll probably jump to some flavor of Linux.
 

Justinhub2003

macrumors regular
Jul 17, 2012
137
0
Cincinnati Oh
Actually Macs are becoming more affordable in my opinion.


And Windows OEM's are trying to make good hardware design now and no longer have the cheaper option like they used to. I mean when it comes to the macbook Air, your better off getting a MBA than getting an ultrabook because the price is so close yet the MBA is still of higher quality.

Windows computers are cheaper because the actual computer itself is cheap and very mid-range.

Apple doesnt make a mid range computer, they are a premium brand and obviously charge a premium price.
 

Spetsnazos

macrumors regular
May 3, 2012
244
9
lol Linux should not even be spoken of in this thread. Terrible OS with terrible support.

As a long time windows user with a 15" rMBP 16/512/2.6, I can't say anything bad about this laptop. I looked around for a Windows alternative and honestly there really isn't one with this kind of hardware and battery life. THe Lenovo's are nice but terrible resolution(no screen real estate).

If anyone can find an equivalent Windows PC let me know.

I bootcamp into Windows7 right now but if I am not gaming or needing a special program I tend to go back to OS X for web browsing, email, messaging.
 

Krazy Bill

macrumors 68030
Dec 21, 2011
2,985
3
You guys are comparing a boring Apple laptop to other boring PC equivalents. In Windows-land right now, it's all about bringing us closer to a single device that replaces both the iPad and MacBook (i.e., the hybrid).

Some of these are looking pretty good but I don't think the build quality is quite there yet. Perhaps by this summer.


What would you pay to not see this every other day for the next 5 years?
Yeah right. OSX apps never lockup and OSX always performs flawlessly. LOL!
 

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
Hi guys,
Just wanted to know if given a chance anyone would consider buying a windows laptop the next time,,

Regards,

:)


Really, I think they are more affordable now then ever before, and still a great product for the price.

my early 2009 uMB still boots fast after 4 years, running on a 4GB/500GB HDD system. First it had 10.5, then 10.6, now 10.7 and never erased the drive and started over either?

Battery was like 7 hours originally but now after nearly 1000 charge cycles, I still get 4-5 hours and I can replace the battery if I wanted to.

Tell me where a Windows notebook would last the same and still draw in 1/3 of it's original price. I paid $1500 and they are still getting close to $600-700 for these on eBay?

Yes I can buy a cheap Windows laptop for $600 but then it is a toss away after 1-2 years, do that twice and you basically have the same price as my Mac without all the headaches of a new machine and freakin drivers.

I have been in IT for 24 years, always had Mac and PC, will NEVER EVER go back to Windows, and to me Windows 8 is a joke.
 

FYDave

macrumors member
Feb 24, 2011
85
0
You're obviously in the minority of people who do hardcore photography or video editing. Most people are more than happy with iPhoto and iMovie or the Adobe Elements package. And if you're in that crowd, you aren't going to notice the difference between 3 seconds and 4 seconds as much as you would notice a $300 - $400 difference in CPU prices from an Intel Celeron to a 3rd gen i7.

My father uses a Core 2 Duo machine for iMovie and is quite happy with it. Would he like a $2000 upgrade? Probably. But he'd be just as happy with a $500 upgrade... and that's something Apple doesn't offer.

Again, when did not needing the all the features of a higher end, higher priced item result in that item being overpriced?

----------

Well, if we assume Apple doesn't overcharge their products, then how come they constantly have the highest profit margins in the industry?

Everywhere I look at Apple, I see a business model extremely focused on emptying your wallet. For example, they divide their Macs into tiers; lower, middle and high end. Usually, the lower one would be fine for me, if I could just upgrade the graphics card, or similar. But they make it so that you can only get the best graphics card if you buy the high end model.

There's really nothing preventing them from offering the choice of letting you customize the lower end one with it. But they deliberately force you to pick the higher end model, thus paying more for other components they include as well, which you don't need. Overall, they are in total control, and they make a higher profit.

Their incremental hardware updates to their products every year fits into this scheme as well. Great, so you get 1 GB of RAM now in the latest iPhone. Well, they could have included that in the previous iPhone as well, would probably cost $5 per unit for them to do so. But then that iPhone would last longer, and they wouldn't be able to drop support for it when some apps/games comes that require 1 GB of RAM. Or the OS itself.

Their whole model is based on giving you as little as possible for the money, and making your purchase as obsolete as early as possible.

Of course, all companies do this. But Apple is leading the way, proudly.

So what you're essentially arguing is that because their products don't offer the flexibility that you would like, they're overpriced.
 

robvas

macrumors 68040
Mar 29, 2009
3,240
629
USA
Apple laptops are finally NOT overpriced.

Feature for feature they are pretty competitive with PC laptops of equal quality and offer things they don't (best touchpad, OS X). The Air is inexpensive and is better than the Ultrabooks it competes with (Wouldn't mind one of those new 1080p screens in the ASUS making it into the Air, though)

I remember 'in the old days' when people were paying $3,000+ for a PowerBook G3. That's when they were expensive.
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,183
19,030
You guys are comparing a boring Apple laptop to other boring PC equivalents. In Windows-land right now, it's all about bringing us closer to a single device that replaces both the iPad and MacBook (i.e., the hybrid).

Like the x86 errm... 'Pro' tablet with extremely poor battery life? I don't see the hybrid idea flying any time soon, not unless x86 CPUs become much more energy efficient or ARM CPUs become competitive performance-wise with x86 CPUs.
 

Haifisch

macrumors regular
Nov 19, 2012
184
20
Yeah right. OSX apps never lockup and OSX always performs flawlessly. LOL!

Not true. I do get the spinning beach ball from time to time, but nothing like XP used to. Things maybe different for Win 7 and 8. And maybe it's because I didn't defrag or clean registry or do those maintenance stuff that XP needed.
 

Spetsnazos

macrumors regular
May 3, 2012
244
9
You guys are comparing a boring Apple laptop to other boring PC equivalents. In Windows-land right now, it's all about bringing us closer to a single device that replaces both the iPad and MacBook (i.e., the hybrid).

Some of these are looking pretty good but I don't think the build quality is quite there yet. Perhaps by this summer.


Yeah right. OSX apps never lockup and OSX always performs flawlessly. LOL!

The technology is not there yet for convertibles...don't even get me started on how unproductive these things are. It's great if you want to view facebook all day and maybe write a word doc for your psychology class..
 

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
I can't go back to Windows. It's just not the same.

I find myself living in both worlds since work demands it, but my mac does make windows look an act better.

Can't see buying an windows machine unless it is just a family laptop that doesn't really need ALL the bells and whistles.
 

Queen6

macrumors G4
It`s not so much that Apple`s notebooks are over priced, it`s more that there`s a vast array of cheap PC`s available on the market, as with everything you get what you pay for. Compared to the higher end of the PC portable market, Apple`s offerings are fairly reasonable...
 

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
Ok found a near Windows 8 machine to compare to the base 13" MBP, but what is still missing from the windows machine is:


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+EN...p?id=1218807856258&skuId=6780706#tab=overview

No DVD Drive
cpu is 1.7 not 2.5

Also let me know what you will get from a $1,000.00 windows laptop in 4 years of use after paying $1,000.00, be lucky to give it away

My uMB early 2009 cost $1500 new, and they are still going for close to $700 and mine has a C2D 2.4 with 4GB/500GB, Superdrive, all Aluminum Lion 10.7 and it runs like the day I bought it after 4 years of use, plus the battery still gives me 4-5 hours, if I replace it for $130 I will get close to 7-8 Hours on a single charge.

IMO Windows laptops never get anywhere near the battery runtime that Macs get, and I have friends who have ultrabooks which do not compare to my 13" MBA or 13" MBP
 
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