Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple is playing a very dangerous pricing game with the new core i5 laptops
- Thread starter aneftp
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I hate it when people that think those that complain "just don't get it".
A ton of people who are getting dissatisfied now are exactly the people that have understood this principle for years and been ok with it.
It is the fact that they are at the lowest value in years at a time when Windows is finally bringing out at least a decent competitor to OSX. In a time when, professional software companies are looking elsewhere. And where the competition on physical design is quite a bit better than before. At a time when Apple's quality control itself has been slipping.
I've been a mac user for 15 years, believe me I get "it". Apple's focus on computers for anything beyond everyday tasks has absolutely changed for the worst. If you don't think so, you are lying to yourself.
The irony is that the best way that Apple has changed for most people's use recently is the ability to dual boot Windows, and I despise Microsoft.
I agree 100% and thats exactly why its not legal to use OS X on a PC because quite frankly you can get a far better deal out of the PC line now and hackintosh it and save yourself a grand.
Apple is now ranked 5th in Reliability for their Laptops. People seem to overlook that fact alot now when they tout reliability etc being Apples supposed stronghold
no doubst the 720QM is a better processor and its FASTER than the 620
Not entirely true.
The 720QM runs at a lower clock speed, turbos lower and draws a lot more power and makes a lot more heat.
For most users, the 620 will be the better and faster chip.
For users that "frequently" render 3d, audio and video, the 720QM would be the better chip.
I ventured out of the iPad forum to read about the new MacBook Pros and there are a bunch of freakin' whiners in this forum too!
Some of you must work for this place:
http://gizmodo.com/5515359/the-department-of-net-hate-where-trolls-come-from
Mark
Some of you must work for this place:
http://gizmodo.com/5515359/the-department-of-net-hate-where-trolls-come-from
Mark
I'm not here trying to start a fight with you, strictly for discussion only. Let's go as far as saying you're absolutely right. People are becoming dissatisfied, but isn't showing. Apple's sales get stronger and stronger each QTR. We can argue that Apple's hardware is crap compared to what's available out there but it comes back to the brand. Apple has created brand equity and people are still willing to purchase regardless of how behind they are. Apple has built itself so high that no matter what they do, they'll always have a strong following and they don't need to worry about what others are doing. The mentality is this: "We're Apple, this is what we do - come and try to stop us".
I'm not here to fight either, just voice my opinion. Popularity and sales is obviously a direct halo effect of iPod, iTunes, Intel Processors with the ability to run Windows, and marketing.
It has little to do with the true value of the computers.
They have made gains but in your post you made it sound as if everybody was coming to Apple for their computing needs. At some point, those people are going to get fed up with Apple's antics and price rage. And I'm sure it's started to a (very) small degree.
I've been an Apple user for years but lately their price premium for so-so hardware, failure to adapt certain technologies (HDMI, Blue ray come to mind), warranty/support (that phone support for 90 days only thing really bugs me) and their increasing focus on handheld gadgets has frustrated me and many other users. I liked the older Apple better.
The MacBook Pros will sell well, then taper off.
A lot of us are less religious about this than we used to be. We want to get the job done and use common software, CS4 or CS5, the same browsers, etc and Windows 7 is good, even you if think you hate it for whatever snobby reasons.
I love apps like Things, but I need apps now that run on Windows as well and synch to the cloud, so, I'm a lot less in the Mac ecosystem than I used to be, and I don't see this changing with new devices and so forth.
I was curious about the iPad, but resisted my old urge to just "gotta have it" and now I'm curious as to what the PC and Android makers come up with. I bet PC pads will run flash, be more open in general and this is a worrying trend for me and my dwindling relationship with Apple.
I bought a Sony Vaio F for $1250 (think 13" MBP price). Had the i7 Quad, 6GB ram, 1GB 330M and a 1920x1080 screen. I did return it since the screen had miserable vertical viewing angles, but it shows how close PC makers are. If Sony updated the US screen to the superior European screen, I'd buy another one and they could even charge me $1500 for it.
My first reaction was I had to have a new MBP, but now that that passionate urge has passed, I'm still ready to watch the market. It's very hard to find PC laptops over $2000, and if you do, they have monster video cards or even dual video card capable, hold multiple hard drives, etc.
Aesthetically, Apple builds superior stuff, and that allows them to have the Apple tax. But if PC makers stop with the stupid shiny bulky designs and follow Sony's design lead, Apple is leaving themselves somewhat vulnerable.
It's a good time to be a consumer.
A lot of us are less religious about this than we used to be. We want to get the job done and use common software, CS4 or CS5, the same browsers, etc and Windows 7 is good, even you if think you hate it for whatever snobby reasons.
I love apps like Things, but I need apps now that run on Windows as well and synch to the cloud, so, I'm a lot less in the Mac ecosystem than I used to be, and I don't see this changing with new devices and so forth.
I was curious about the iPad, but resisted my old urge to just "gotta have it" and now I'm curious as to what the PC and Android makers come up with. I bet PC pads will run flash, be more open in general and this is a worrying trend for me and my dwindling relationship with Apple.
I bought a Sony Vaio F for $1250 (think 13" MBP price). Had the i7 Quad, 6GB ram, 1GB 330M and a 1920x1080 screen. I did return it since the screen had miserable vertical viewing angles, but it shows how close PC makers are. If Sony updated the US screen to the superior European screen, I'd buy another one and they could even charge me $1500 for it.
My first reaction was I had to have a new MBP, but now that that passionate urge has passed, I'm still ready to watch the market. It's very hard to find PC laptops over $2000, and if you do, they have monster video cards or even dual video card capable, hold multiple hard drives, etc.
Aesthetically, Apple builds superior stuff, and that allows them to have the Apple tax. But if PC makers stop with the stupid shiny bulky designs and follow Sony's design lead, Apple is leaving themselves somewhat vulnerable.
It's a good time to be a consumer.
I'm sorry our opinions are hurting you in the feelings but no need to get defensive and call people trolls. Geese XD
these prices are a bit wonky. I was totally ready to jump back aboard the osx train but theses prices are a bit hard to swallow for the specs. I don't mind the apple tax but this thing is literally an arm and a leg. 1599 for the lowest end 15" would have been fair. 1499 would have been competitive.
I think apple is going to keep jacking up the price until their sells drop. After they'll price drop again. These new price drops negate last years drop (more or less)!
Hah. No I don't mean it like that, I apologize. I'm pretty sure maybe one day it'll finally kick in change will have to come. Look at Research In Motion and the BlackBerry. For the longest time they were the go-to smartphone but with the emergence of apps and despite earnings and sales that have come on top, I believe the last, 4 out of the last 6 QTR's, people are finally looking at other options.
i've been buying apple computers since they started making them. i think i've owned about 40 apple laptops and desktops in the past 20 years or so. i also own an iphone, ipods, airport extremes, etc. i've been a diehard apple addict for a long time. i spend A LOT of money with apple, from $5000-$10,000 a year. i love apple products because of OS X, and because of the design and build quality.
But Apple's pricing is just completely wacked. one would think that with all the profit they make from iphones, ipods, imacs, macbooks, and now the ipad, that they would lower the cost of their macbook pros, mac pros, and high-end imacs. i always figured that if they did this, they would sell more of them, and gain more customers, which would bring the volume up and cost down so they can eventually profit more from macbook pros and mac pros. i don't know, maybe i'm a complete idiot here.
anyhow, being a loyal apple customer, and graphics/3D visual effects/film professional, i feel like apple doesn't care about what the professional market needs anymore. and they keep making enemies with great companies like Adobe, nVidia, etc, that they need in order to meet demand for certain industries/consumers. steve jobs is brilliant, a visionary, a gosh darn freakin genius, but he should really let someone else run that company now. or he should split the company into two separate companies, one that deals with the pro market, and one that deals with the consumer market. and let someone else run the pro market company. again, i'm sure i sound like a total idiot here.
anyhow, for the first time in 20 years, i'm considering walking away from apple. i might get an HP Z800 workstation for my visual effects/graphics/film work, and some PC laptop as a mobile workstation. the main reason would be the fact that Apple doesn't offer what i need in terms of workstation graphics cards, blu ray, displays, etc. and i'll get more for my money if i shop somewhere else. HP already offered me 30% off the total cost of the Z800 workstation i configured at hp online. another reason is because most of the software that i use isn't up to par on the mac, as it is on a PC. adobe, autodesk, etc, they are always behind with os x related stuff, and they don't support it like they do windows. and i'm getting tired of the one-man-show at apple, the secrecy, terrible warranty, and their premium prices. i especially don't like how they keep secret the updates in professional hardware. that's information that the pro market needs in order to plan for the future and function efficiently. it just doesn't seem worth it for me anymore.
i agree with the person that started this thread. i definitely think apple is playing a very dangerous game these days.
by the way "snouter", you make a lot of sense.
But Apple's pricing is just completely wacked. one would think that with all the profit they make from iphones, ipods, imacs, macbooks, and now the ipad, that they would lower the cost of their macbook pros, mac pros, and high-end imacs. i always figured that if they did this, they would sell more of them, and gain more customers, which would bring the volume up and cost down so they can eventually profit more from macbook pros and mac pros. i don't know, maybe i'm a complete idiot here.
anyhow, being a loyal apple customer, and graphics/3D visual effects/film professional, i feel like apple doesn't care about what the professional market needs anymore. and they keep making enemies with great companies like Adobe, nVidia, etc, that they need in order to meet demand for certain industries/consumers. steve jobs is brilliant, a visionary, a gosh darn freakin genius, but he should really let someone else run that company now. or he should split the company into two separate companies, one that deals with the pro market, and one that deals with the consumer market. and let someone else run the pro market company. again, i'm sure i sound like a total idiot here.
anyhow, for the first time in 20 years, i'm considering walking away from apple. i might get an HP Z800 workstation for my visual effects/graphics/film work, and some PC laptop as a mobile workstation. the main reason would be the fact that Apple doesn't offer what i need in terms of workstation graphics cards, blu ray, displays, etc. and i'll get more for my money if i shop somewhere else. HP already offered me 30% off the total cost of the Z800 workstation i configured at hp online. another reason is because most of the software that i use isn't up to par on the mac, as it is on a PC. adobe, autodesk, etc, they are always behind with os x related stuff, and they don't support it like they do windows. and i'm getting tired of the one-man-show at apple, the secrecy, terrible warranty, and their premium prices. i especially don't like how they keep secret the updates in professional hardware. that's information that the pro market needs in order to plan for the future and function efficiently. it just doesn't seem worth it for me anymore.
i agree with the person that started this thread. i definitely think apple is playing a very dangerous game these days.
by the way "snouter", you make a lot of sense.
There are plenty of decent Windows laptops out there, but for many of us they manage to miss the mark. Battery life is really the most important facet of the MBP's that gets overlooked here. I have never owned a PC laptop that came even close to what I get with my Mac. The Macs will also stay in service for many more years after the sub $1000 machines are trashed.
As for the 10% of users mentioned earlier. That number is actually a little high, everything I have seen says more like 8%, but that 8% generates 47% of all profit made from PC sales, and Apple has over 90% share of computers sold over $1000. All of these people are not idiots.
As for the 10% of users mentioned earlier. That number is actually a little high, everything I have seen says more like 8%, but that 8% generates 47% of all profit made from PC sales, and Apple has over 90% share of computers sold over $1000. All of these people are not idiots.
if price is an issue.. windows 7 desktops are blazing fast and cheap.. for my "pro" work stuff i have a quad core xeon desktop with 8gb ram that cost me 1000 to build.. 2 x 24" ultrasharps.. total about 1500 all together.. i have more screen space than i can use and no mbp can compare..
i bought a 15 i5 tonight and then exchanged it for a 13 for 1099 and saved about 680 ... i just can't justify the price and weight/size of the 15 i5 for a portable that's not meant as a main workstation.. 680 bucks can buy a lot of nice pc parts
i bought a 15 i5 tonight and then exchanged it for a 13 for 1099 and saved about 680 ... i just can't justify the price and weight/size of the 15 i5 for a portable that's not meant as a main workstation.. 680 bucks can buy a lot of nice pc parts
Unfortunately, there is a lot of merit in some of what you say, but I am sorry, but I put Adobe and Autodesk, along with Intuit in the category of absolute pariahs in the software industry. Have you used Acrobat lately? Every year brings a newer, slower, more bloated version. They do add some useful features to Photoshop from time to time, but the yearly upgrades are generally have little value. Autodesk adds minimally to AutoCad every year and locks you out of the upgrade path if you skip more than two versions. I even found out earlier this week when doing a reinstall, that I can not request a program CD if I bought a download version (same price) without buying another copy. I also could not redownload the software after 30 days. This is for a program that costs $1200! Don't even get me started on Intuit.
While the Apple tax may be a hit initially, there is still definite payback in total cost of ownership. I am still working every day on my 06 Mac Pro. It cost $2500 new and still runs faster than 90% of the PC's sold (and about the same as these new laptops). I guess I am still a subscriber to the theory that the computer you really want is always $2500. It has held true for me for almost 30 years.
Apple is the Mercedes-Benz of the computer world. If you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it.
I have never understood this sentiment. No matter how much money I have I still see products as "worth the cost or not". I don't want anything so bad that I will pay obscene amounts for it.
Dangerous game? Apple is pricing their laptops at a much higher price than comparable hardware on a PC manufacturer... nothing new here. And dangerous? if sales lag, they'll just drop the price.
oh the peril
oh the peril
i see your point with adobe. i mainly use After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator, and they work well for me. but i do understand the problems with InDesign, Acrobat, etc. its unfortunate that they can't get it right.
as for autodesk, oh my gosh. that company really, really, really needs new leadership. talk about disorganized and unprofessional, at least with the products i use. and their tech support has been a total joke to me. i use Maya 2010 and i have subscription with gold support. its been nothing short of a nightmare trying to deal with autodesk. its been so bad, i considered moving to a new 3D platform, but i found out that i am not allowed to sell my maya license, something that cost me over $5000.
makes you wonder don't it? the margin Apple must be having on the computers it makes!! If less than 10% of the sales generates 50% of the entire PC industry profit....then it surely means that us Apple whores are being taken for a ride!!
(pun not intended..)