Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mac's getting more overpriced,would u buy a windows computer the next time

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.
 
FYDave said:
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.
Click to expand...

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:)
 
I might have to start finding better deals. But, there's no way in hell I'm going to buy another Windows PC unless I'm installing Linux on it.
 
I did some interesting research on the price of Apple computers one time. They're really not overpriced. If you want a laptop from another manufacturer which performs equally, you'll pay a similar price.
 
wiznet said:
I did some interesting research on the price of Apple computers one time. They're really not overpriced. If you want a laptop from another manufacturer which performs equally, you'll pay a similar price.
Click to expand...




sounds great ,thanks for all ur replies guys
 
Well, for example, the only reason why the rMBP's are high price are because of SSD's and panels. The price increase is not really Apple's fault. Plus, they still offer the uMBP. People got what they wanted with new iMac: Beast GTX 680M and no ODD. They still complain. I second wiznet's post, look at Dell's new comparable xps 15 laptop and XPS one 27 AIO and come back to me and say macs are overpriced.

Upgrades are overpriced of course, but this new 2012 uMBP I'm on now is by far the best laptop I ever owned. OS X is absolutely amazing. Infact, everytime I use windows I find myself wish I could use the amazing features OS X has.

This computer is not only a CPU monster, but a GPU monster as well. The GT 650M takes everything I throw at it and eats it for breakfast. All that power in high quality chassis that's 30% thinner than the average windows laptop.

Plus, I have windows 7 when I need it. I get the best of both worlds. What more could you want?

Overall, when you actually get the product in your hands and use it, you see why you paid that extra money. Worth every penny. (Especially when you come from cheap $500-$800 dell laptops like I do, what pieces of ***** they are)
 
Last edited:
You get a better deal than before IMO.

I started getting interested in MacBooks in late 2007. Back then the cheapest MBP was $1999 so it was out of my budget, so I was left with the $1099 white MacBook which had the following:

1) Plastic body prone to scratches / cracking / yellowing
2) Crappy CCFL display with washed out colors.
3) Only 80GB hard drive on the base model (that was as much as the iPod...)
4) 1GB RAM on the base model (low for a computer of that time and price)
5) No backlit keyboard
6) No legendary glass multi-touch, no-button trackpad.
7) Pretty average size and thickness.
8) DVD burner (SuperDrive) wasn't available on the base model
9) No phenomenal special feature you can't get anywhere else hardware-wise. Ok speakers, ok webcam.

It ran OS X, had pretty good battery life but that was about it.
None of the premium things now automatically associated to Macs were there unless paying $2k+ for the MBP line.

Now it's pretty cool that you can grab a $1,199 13" MBA and get premium stuff like all-SSD storage, durable unibody aluminium design, awesome trackpad, backlit keyboard, super thin and light form factor, etc. which Windows OEMs seem to have a hard time getting right.

The hardware quality for the price has definitively improved compared to older MacBooks, at least in the sub-$2,000 market.
 
Last edited:
This last round of laptop hunting, I promised myself I would get a PC. Then I looked at what was available. I ended up with a rmbp, even though I think mountain lion is garbage and pretty much all I do is virtualize windows.

Want to run two big external panels (not to mention three) and have a decent resolution screen when on the go? In addition to costing just as much, the PC competition was 9 lbs. want a screen that is not 16:9? Keep dreaming!

From an ultrabook standpoint, the mbp computers are not price competitive, but for portable productivity machines where price is less of an object I hate to admit they are an excellent value.
 
The hp envy range are pretty good and budget friendly, samsung also have good offerings.

For mba alternative hp and sony have good/superior options i think.
 
FYDave said:
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.
Click to expand...

But what sort of power do you need? With CPU power so cheap, and Windows' ClearType technology, the only thing I'm missing that a $500 Dell can't provide is battery life, an SSD, and the thinness.

Apple laptops have always been competitively priced in the high-end market. But as technology increases, I find that middle and even low-end laptops are "good enough" for most people, and the mac premium remains a premium, simply because I have no need for a quad-core i7 when a dual core i3 will do.

EDIT: Also, Vizio.
 
Haven't found a laptop regardless of the OS installed built like an Apple product and holding its value like an Apple product.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
But what sort of power do you need? With CPU power so cheap, and Windows' ClearType technology, the only thing I'm missing that a $500 Dell can't provide is battery life, an SSD, and the thinness.

Apple laptops have always been competitively priced in the high-end market. But as technology increases, I find that middle and even low-end laptops are "good enough" for most people, and the mac premium remains a premium, simply because I have no need for a quad-core i7 when a dual core i3 will do.

EDIT: Also, Vizio.
Click to expand...

But I'm confused as to how this applies to the argument that Apple machines are overpriced? A particular user not having a need for higher end features that come in more expensive machines doesn't make higher end machines overpriced.

If I could perform my photo and video editing just as well on a $500 machine, I'd be MORE than happy to use it. As it stands, that isn't possible.

Also, when people toss around the argument of the Apple premium, again, I'd like to point out the standard of customer service that Apple generally meets or exceeds. With the exception of Dell machines that are under an additional accidental damage warranty, I haven't heard of a single computer manufacturer matching Apple's level of customer service in recent times.

Edit: The trackpad that comes equipped on all Macbooks now, especially in comparison to the trackpads from other manufacturers, in my opinion is nothing short of a miracle in use.
 
roxxette said:
The hp envy range are pretty good and budget friendly, samsung also have good offerings.

For mba alternative hp and sony have good/superior options i think.
Click to expand...

HP's are crap. Plain and simple.

I agree about the MBA. The PC Ultrabooks have definitely caught up to apple in this regard, but notice how they are price exactly the same, if not more than the MBA.

The ASUS Zenbooks are amazing. Would definitely get a Zenbook over a Macbook Air if I weren't attached to OS X and apple's trackpad.(Apple owns the trackpad. NOTHING comes close.)
 
I'm not too concerned with apple's current pricing since I'm willing to pay for something good, but I find their products are turning to crap. Underpowered, lower build quality, non-customizable. With the exception of the old style mbp's they don't make anything I'd want to buy at any price.

That being said, I've got a windows 8 machine (since I need to keep up on current tech) and it is so horrible there's 0 chance I'd leave Apple right now.

My main computer is an i7-3770k based hackintosh. I get all my apple goodness on hardware that I can really enjoy. My secondary computer is a 13" MBP. I'd actually love to give apple money for a decent desktop, but they just don't want to make one.

----------
TechZeke said:
HP's are crap. Plain and simple.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. They take the cheap crap of the week from their commodity hardware suppliers throw their label on it, add a ton of bloat-ware; literally hundreds of trial versions they're paid to install, and then it never works right from day one because of driver issues, hardware compatiblity issues, or too much bloat-ware.

Their tech support can't help you because they don't even know what hardware they happened to use the week your machine was built.
 
:confused: got here a 5 year old hp dv6 only problem i have had is replacing the battery.

The Envy range is pretty damm good specially for the price, bestbuy had awesome deals on black friday.
 
FYDave said:
Edit: The trackpad that comes equipped on all Macbooks now, especially in comparison to the trackpads from other manufacturers, in my opinion is nothing short of a miracle in use.
Click to expand...

Amen, Brother! Set out the mouse traps.
 
FYDave said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
FYDave said:
But I'm confused as to how this applies to the argument that Apple machines are overpriced? A particular user not having a need for higher end features that come in more expensive machines doesn't make higher end machines overpriced.

If I could perform my photo and video editing just as well on a $500 machine, I'd be MORE than happy to use it. As it stands, that isn't possible.
Click to expand...

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.
 
According to inflation, 6 years ago in 2006, $1200 would be the equivalent of about $1333.34. So what did $1200 get you in 2006?

A standard white MacBook with a Core Duo, 80GB of hard drive space, 1GB of DDR2 memory and an Intel 965 integrated graphics.

What does $1333.34 get you today?

An upgraded MacBook Pro 13" with 8GB of DDR3 memory.

Apple products are not getting "more overpriced", they're actually going DOWN in price and becoming more affordable. In the late 2000's, owning an Apple computer meant a primary investment of at minimum, $1200-1400. Now $600 gets you a Mac Mini and if you go refurbished you can pick up the highly acclaimed MacBook Air for less than $1000 in some circumstances.

With Apple's shift to Intel, you can even use cheap ram and cheaper hard drives to offset the cost of upgrading.

If you're referring to Retina MacBooks, what those are is a reward to the upper-middle to upper-class demographic that have been loyal to Apple for a long time, longing for the last two years for a MacBook Pro that brings back the command of having a high end device.

What Apple is doing, is why I will probably never own a Windows based laptop again for the rest of my life, despite being a HARDCORE PC enthusiast for years prior to my 2012 cMBP: they are widening their target audience and embracing the changing times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back