Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I am sure you will enjoy endless inflow of firmware updates from MS, which also have a habit of breaking what working before, creating as many problems as they try to solve. Just google Surface problems
[doublepost=1553054828][/doublepost]
So what is your point then?

Not the OP but the speed difference between an internal SSD and external SSD OR HD is absolutely insane. I'm not insulting you however but if you don't have this basic knowledge then you won't understand why the users here are laughing at Apple / equally frustrated with insane upgrade prices that shouldn't exist to that extreme in a lot of users opinions.
 
Yeah! Apple's markup is ridiculous. More than double the cost of the equivalently performing NVMe storage.

Massive RAM prices I can understand as that's just a historical meme at this point. But the storage markup is painful to swallow.

Its not double. Its Triple. And that is triple the cost of consumer Retail price. And they are not giving you back the original NAND SSD which you upgraded from. And if you count that, you are paying more than Triple the price.

It would have been easier to swallow if it was double.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BusanAA
This is Awesome, I really hope Apple keeps an eye on this forum and if it does? Thank you Tim, this is the most sensible thing to do the Premium thing wasn't taking Apple anywhere, make it accessible to people.
 
And the Macbook is still ignored.
Pretty sure they’ve switched MB to a two-year update cycle, like iMac. It should be updated this year. At this point only MBP is on a yearly update cycle.

Wish they’d make a 14” version of the MB! Maybe too niche a market, but I want it anyway! lol (Same with iPad mini Pro. Oh well.)
 
Pretty sure they’ve switched MB to a two-year update cycle, like iMac. It should be updated this year. At this point only MBP is on a yearly update cycle.

Wish they’d make a 14” version of the MB! Maybe too niche a market, but I want it anyway! lol (Same with iPad mini Pro. Oh well.)

Maybe, but I was referring to no SSD price drops for the MB. It should have also been lowered in general to get under the MBA price point, like how the iPad costs less than the iPad Air.
 
They're worth considering used or refurbished for certain work loads, but not new imo.
Especially if you bear in mind that the nMP is upgradeable, though it’s limited to memory, storage and cpu. But if you work with audio the gpu is not an issue.
With a 3 ghz 10 core, 64 GB ram and the apple SSUBX or a new NVME drive it’s still a powerful and portable machine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R3k
I am sure you will enjoy endless inflow of firmware updates from MS, which also have a habit of breaking what working before, creating as many problems as they try to solve. Just google Surface problems

that's by no means exclusive to microsoft. I remember when my perfectly working TC Powercore DSP system bricked my mac pros because Apple changed their PCIe enumeration scheme in Mavericks. Apple's solution? Go **** yourself. those same cards (with plugins that cost more than the mac pro) still work perfectly fine on Windows 10.
 
Maybe, but I was referring to no SSD price drops for the MB. It should have also been lowered in general to get under the MBA price point, like how the iPad costs less than the iPad Air.
Oh ok. Well MB only has 256/512GB capacities, and Apple only dropped prices on 1.5/2/4TB. So no reason to expect a drop on the MB platform.

Also, MB is actually cheaper than MBA for the same config; the $1,299 MB has a 256GB SSD, which costs $1,399 on a MBA ($1,199 base +$200 for the 128==>256GB upgrade).

If MB had a 128GB option, it would be priced at $1,099. But there’s not enough margin on a $1,099 MB, so the entry level model is $1,299 for a 256GB.
 
Especially if you bear in mind that the nMP is upgradeable, though it’s limited to memory, storage and cpu. But if you work with audio the gpu is not an issue.
With a 3 ghz 10 core, 64 GB ram and the apple SSUBX or a new NVME drive it’s still a powerful and portable machine.
Careful, you’re not allowed to like the nMP on MR forums :D Someone will likely be along shortly to explain to you that the cylinder is a complete and utter failure. (For everyone... just because it can’t take a 250W PCIe GPU card. Which you don’t need. And don’t want. But the nMP is still a colossal failure. Trust them, they’ll set you straight!) (Oh and they’ll also tell you no one cares about portability in a desktop machine lol.)

But seriously, Apple still sells these because people are still buying them—though some refuse to believe that. Prices on used machines are also relatively high; it’s tough to find one selling for under $1,500.

Personally, I love the nMP but then again I don’t need GPU compute, and I can certainly understand why it’s a non-starter for entire categories of pros. But I think some Mac Pro/Tim Cook critics will be very surprised when the 2019 MP is (finally!) released.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: flygbuss
price drop and still ridiculously expensive and forces people to buy through Apple as everything is nonnon-DIY gradeable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: femike
Its not only the high prices Apple charges, it because I cannot easily replace (or its impossible) the SSD with just a screwdriver to upgrade later, or when it goes faulty. eg On the Dell laptop I have just clone, open, replace. Easy.
 
So they made a slight reduction on SSDs above 1 TB.

Apple, on the internets that is called trolling.
 
Prices are STILL ridiculous, considering they are disposable appliances.

If soldered-in components are the only thing Apple offers, then their upgrade prices should be akin to those we can get from Newegg or Crucial.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Peperino
Apple's storage and memory costs continue to be ridiculous -- regardless of the bones they throw like this. 2TB M2 drives are $250-$300 these days. It's a lot less for folks like Apple. A long ways from $1400.
 
Apple is loosing us.

It's not -only- about money. It's a general feeling that they are ripping us off. They seem to have lost every contact with reality. Laughable price cuts. No wait, even worse, insulting.
 
Prices are STILL ridiculous, considering they are disposable appliances.

If soldered-in components are the only thing Apple offers, then their upgrade prices should be akin to those we can get from Newegg or Crucial.
That’s really not how it works. Apple’s got over 130,000 employees and spends over $1.3 billion per month on R&D.

Like it or not, Apple has a high cost structure. Prices must be high to cover those costs.
 
That’s really not how it works. Apple’s got over 130,000 employees and spends over $1.3 billion per month on R&D.

Like it or not, Apple has a high cost structure. Prices must be high to cover those costs.
In reality revenue must be high to cover those costs and at some point that may decouple from price.
 
  • Like
Reactions: phillytim
That’s really not how it works. Apple’s got over 130,000 employees and spends over $1.3 billion per month on R&D.

Like it or not, Apple has a high cost structure. Prices must be high to cover those costs.
Lol, you mean to tell me Apple is paying iphone R&D money into SSD development?!
There's profit and then there's ripping off. I seriously doubt Apple is paying retail for their SSD components so when you can buy an equivalently fast 1 TB NVME SSD for $250 while Apple charges $700 for the privilege means they're making over $500 on pure profit just from that upgrade. I doubt Apple is making that much on the Xr once you factor in iphone R&D which is much much more than SSD tech which is available off the shelf.
 
  • Like
Reactions: phillytim
In reality revenue must be high to cover those costs and at some point that may decouple from price.
Maybe I missed your point, but high revenue alone is not sufficient. If your expenses are even higher, you are operating at a loss no matter how many zeros are on the end of that revenue figure.

Price is coupled pretty tightly with revenue, but may have a direct or inverse relationship. I think that was your point... that if prices get too high it will cause revenue to drop.
 
Headline should read...
Great NEWS!
Apple is ripping off their customers a little less!!

Retail on nvme SSD's are about $250/TB. That's retail. We know Apple ain't paying retail for their drives. So it's hard to comprehend why Apple would overcharge customers soooo much just for plain SSD upgrades. The only valid reason I can come up with is, "because we can".
 
  • Like
Reactions: cinq2
Maybe I missed your point, but high revenue alone is not sufficient. If your expenses are even higher, you are operating at a loss no matter how many zeros are on the end of that revenue figure.

Price is coupled pretty tightly with revenue, but may have a direct or inverse relationship. I think that was your point... that if prices get too high it will cause revenue to drop.
Yes, that was what I meant. Apple is already loosing sales numbers and they have compensated with price. If they manage doing that great. If not... not great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PickUrPoison
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.