Never even meant to imply fraud and no drama just bilking.
No fraud hence no scam. It is a device that’s too expensive for you. Simple.
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Apple needs to make 16 GB of Ram standard or they may never have a laptop monopoly.
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No fraud hence no scam. It is a device that’s too expensive for you. Simple.
That doesn't make it a Scam. Apple is not selling RAM separately, and not making any promises on upgradeability. Apple packages RAM along with CPU/GPU SOC. Apple has already made the trade-off between performance and upgradability with unified memory.
Apple also made a business decision to subsidize their low-end machines with upgraders and super users paying the premium.
If you want to upgrade from a third party, buy from companies other than Apple that can provide Laptop upgradability. Apple never promised upgradeability to buy components from OWC or Crucial.
Stop looking at activity monitor. Problem solved.
I agree more with the need to bump the base ssd up to 512 than the memory up to 16. Because my 8g does just fine, I have never had a problem with it. But I think 12g memory and 512g ssd would be a great compromise for a base model.
I agree more with the need to bump the base ssd up to 512 than the memory up to 16. Because my 8g does just fine, I have never had a problem with it. But I think 12g memory and 512g ssd would be a great compromise for a base model.
8, 10, 12, 16...good gravy people! If you want more memory than the min Apple provides, just buy a machine with more! What's the problem?
So much angst over a few gigabytes.....seems bizarre.
So much angst over a few gigabytes.....seems bizarre.
Yeah whats the problem? Its only $200 for 8g more memory. Or more like $400+ more if you’re looking at a base model on sale at costco. Just pull out your wallet you cheapskates
/s
No kidding! $200 on something you can EASILY have at least 5 years...that's $40/year. I mean, honestly...how cheap can people be?!?
If you can't resell the RAM, you're not buying RAM. You're buying a system with integrated RAM. You're being charged for a higher end system. You're looking at the spec sheet and seeing a difference in RAM and calling it a RAM upgrade. Apple is looking at you as a different kind of customer buying a different level system.
When you buy a BTO system, you're a customer with more sophisticated needs and Apple charges you for a more sophisticated system.
When you buy an 8GB system, you're a mainstream budget customer and they charge you less for the system.
It just so happens that Apple has figured out that they don't need to compromise the system in any other way so they can be more efficient by having a simpler range of designs and the budget customers benefit from having top end gear with the only distinction being RAM.
It's better for everyone this way. The alternative is to have a laptop lineup like Dell. Dell has no control over the system components and is forced to use lower cost components across the board so they can hold their margins at the low end. Apple can vary their margins much more simply.
Seriously, it gets so much less confusing once you realize and accept that.
Yes, it is basically differential pricing - the strategy of charging different customer segments different prices. The customer who wants more RAM is being charged more, not because the RAM costs (slightly) more, but because that customer is part of a segment that is more willing and able to be charged more.
Differential Pricing: What Is It and How to Use This Pricing Strategy Effectively
Even in stable market conditions, a differential pricing strategy is now more important than ever. Here's how companies can develop different offers that appeal to their specific target customer segments
Oh I realize and accept that. I’ve been through many macs now, some obscenely expensive upgrades and others base models on sale. I’m just pointing out that the base model macs are the best value, and its not cheap to upgrade components. A lot of people don’t know what they need and to be ‘safe’ spend a lot more money than they have to. Common knowledge on the internet is that 8g is unusable for anyone but grandma. So they spend almost half a thousand dollars extra just to be safe. This works out great for apple. Of course some people do need the extra power and for them it makes sense to pay for upgrades. But its the kind of thing where if you have to ask if you need it, you probably don’t need it.
On all of that.....
I got the very last unit of the last machine you could get from Apple in a 0/0 configuration. It was a special order and I had to wait a while for it - but I got a Mac IIci with no memory and no hard drive. I had to fight to get that order through too.
I ordered 8MB of RAM and a 170MB hard drive through MacWeek (when it was a large format paper mag) and saved a TON of money over what I would have paid through Apple. I think it was on the order of $1500 or so in savings.
Still ended up paying $5500 for the whole kit (with 14" monitor, keyboard and mouse).
Those were the good old days
As a side note - it took approximately FOREVER to install A/UX with the X Window System from approximately 80 floppy disks. It was ridiculous
I got the very last unit of the last machine you could get from Apple in a 0/0 configuration. It was a special order and I had to wait a while for it - but I got a Mac IIci with no memory and no hard drive. I had to fight to get that order through too.
I ordered 8MB of RAM and a 170MB hard drive through MacWeek (when it was a large format paper mag) and saved a TON of money over what I would have paid through Apple. I think it was on the order of $1500 or so in savings.
Still ended up paying $5500 for the whole kit (with 14" monitor, keyboard and mouse).
Those were the good old days
As a side note - it took approximately FOREVER to install A/UX with the X Window System from approximately 80 floppy disks. It was ridiculous
My bad, on 2015 iMac here and in the past
Subsidize? Some people think Apple has a standard profit (high) margin for every device.Yeah. Some people think earth is flat.My bad, on 2015 iMac here and in the past
I think it is simple economics. Ram and SSD on Macs work differently than on Windows. Less bloat in general and ram management works better on MacOS.
Microsoft sells Surface devices with a base of 8gb of ram and I don't see people making big deal of it. I have bought a Surface laptop 4 with 8gb ram and older risen processor and I never felt it was slow. Later I decided to upgrade to more ram but just like a Mac it is not user upgradable.
In terms of cost the M2 MBA BTO with 512gb and 16gb ram is very similar in cost to a Dell XPS 13" with similar specs yet I think the MBA is the better value and an overall better device.
If you just want the cheapest Mac m series laptop then an M1 MBA is still around sometimes selling less than $800 new. I don't know of a better laptop you can get for less?
I have gotten deals on Windows laptops which were around $600 with decent specs but I got lucky and I still have added bloat not on Macs.
In terms of current Mac pricing I really can't fault Apple. If you really want to save money and M2 Mac mini with your own accessories is about the best deal you can get.
Apple has never sold budget laptops and you pay a premium for the unified architecture which makes lower ram not as bad as without it.
Microsoft sells Surface devices with a base of 8gb of ram and I don't see people making big deal of it. I have bought a Surface laptop 4 with 8gb ram and older risen processor and I never felt it was slow. Later I decided to upgrade to more ram but just like a Mac it is not user upgradable.
In terms of cost the M2 MBA BTO with 512gb and 16gb ram is very similar in cost to a Dell XPS 13" with similar specs yet I think the MBA is the better value and an overall better device.
If you just want the cheapest Mac m series laptop then an M1 MBA is still around sometimes selling less than $800 new. I don't know of a better laptop you can get for less?
I have gotten deals on Windows laptops which were around $600 with decent specs but I got lucky and I still have added bloat not on Macs.
In terms of current Mac pricing I really can't fault Apple. If you really want to save money and M2 Mac mini with your own accessories is about the best deal you can get.
Apple has never sold budget laptops and you pay a premium for the unified architecture which makes lower ram not as bad as without it.
I bought my base (8/256) M2 Air in the Fall of 2022 on sale for $1,050. My needs are pretty simple and I largely stick with standard Apple Apps for Mail, Calendar, Messaging, Notes, iWork, etc.. Occasionally, I use MS Office and Zoom. For my purposes, the base M2 is perfect and works great. I will have no problem getting 5 years out it, which is consistent with my previous experience buying earlier models of base MBAs. There are tons of college students using base MBAs for their entire 4+ year degrees. Plenty of PC manufactures offer laptops with 8/256 configurations that run Windows. I’ll take my base M2 MBA running MacOS any day and gladly pay more for the experience.
Exactly. This was the reason I had to go ahead with the base model last month, the premium reseller basically said I'd have to pay full price for a BTO model... meanwhile they got new stock which included the two port 35W charger and came with a very good discount.
So, it seems clear then that you didn't need more memory after all.
Apple sells 8GB base models because people are willing to buy them.
The problem is you have to wait fir 8-12 weeks. That’s 2 to 3 months
i just went to the apple site, and with 16gb ram & a 1TB SSD on an M2 air, i can have it tomorrow. that's, uh, a lot less than '8-12 weeks'.... 🤔
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They just happen to have that custom model in store which is not always the case. For the same configurtion I’d need to wait between 6 and 12 weeks here.
in store? yes, and also, clearly, 'tomorrow delivery' online. either way, am sure the times vary, from place-to-place, and depending on what's available. i doubt that 'between 6 and 12 weeks' is a constant...