GlueBook Air with Retina yay solder everything, i just buy a new machine if my SSD dies no problem
Apple products are so over priced that they can make a pretty steep cut and still make a nice profit. It's not like their margins are razor thin. Matter of fact...their margins are pretty fat.
I guess that Apple makes at least $2 for every $1 spent. So a $1299 macbook has $650 of profit in it. If Apple were to drop the price on the macbook by $350 that would bring the price to under $1000 and Apple is still clearing a hefty profit.
What you are suggesting is lowering profit margin.
Apple has never done any loss leader.
Apple's margin dont change. It has been roughly the same for years.
Apple first introduced the Air $1800 and since then it's dropped in price to about $1000. So yeah they do lower the price and their margins when they know they can sell more computers.
(a) There is no sub-$1000 model in that lineup.The 15'' MBP is a really bad compromise. If it was meant to be light, it failed (about twice the weight of a 15inch LG Gram). If it wanted to be powerful, it failed too (little RAM, not a decent GPU).
The problem with the MacBook line is not that they have "too many models".
At least 4 MacBooks would fit nicely:
1- Very light 13 inch MB (below 1 kg)
2- Very light 15 inch MB (at 1.2 kg)
3- Powerful 15 inch MBP (at 2 kg)
4- Even more powerful 17inch MBP (below 3 kg)
No confusion with such 4 models... every customer would know what to buy.
GlueBook Air with Retina yay solder everything, i just buy a new machine if my SSD dies no problem
They didn't lower their margin, components has gotten cheap enough for them to do it.
I agree, i really like the design of the MacBook Air and the MacBook 12" i just wish they made a larger 13" or 14" version of the MacBook. I would say that the design of the MacBook Pro is great as well.
These should also be TB 3. I won't buy an Apple laptop without it ... in anticipation of eGPUs.
Instead of the non Tb MacBook Pro I’d rather they replace that with a 13” MacBook optionKeeping the Air around complicates the product lineup, they were SO close to have a streamlined lineup!! This is what I was (and still am) hoping for:
2017
Macbook Air 128GB - $999
Macbook Air 256GB - $1199
Macbook 256GB - $1299
Macbook 512GB - $1599
Macbook Pro 128GB - $1299
Macbook Pro 256GB - $1499
Macbook Pro 256GB TB - $1799
Macbook Pro 512GB TB - $1999
2018
Macbook 128GB - $999
Macbook 256GB - $1199
Macbook 512GB - $1499
Macbook Pro 256GB - $1499
Macbook Pro 256GB TB - $1799
Macbook Pro 512GB TB - $1999
This cleans the whole thing up, charging forward with USB C and retina-only models, hits most price points, get a retina model under $1000, while maintaining profit margins.
So when Apple launched the iphone and then a couple months later dropped the price by $200 it was because the components got cheaper? lol
Apple products are so over priced that they can make a pretty steep cut and still make a nice profit. It's not like their margins are razor thin. Matter of fact...their margins are pretty fat.
I guess that Apple makes at least $2 for every $1 spent. So a $1299 macbook has $650 of profit in it. If Apple were to drop the price on the macbook by $350 that would bring the price to under $1000 and Apple is still clearing a hefty profit.
The iPhone was brand new, R&D cost a lot more on the first product launch, especially on software. Their sales were also outstripping supply, initial estimate was way lower.
You forgot what the margins cover. Years of continued software support, plus use of Apple’s services. Features like iMessage cost money to run, and Apple provides them for free because you have already paid for them upfront (in the form of higher hardware prices).
Yes, I don’t deny Apple is still immensely profitable, but it’s not so straightforward as to just look at hardware profits alone in a vacuum.
You are not making any sense.
They dropped the price within two months of launch and created an uproar with all the early adopters. Nothing could have changed that soon about the cost to build the iphone for them to drop the price that significantly, that early. The only reason to drop the price like that is to drive sales.
"Their sales were outstripping supply"? So they would lower the price because of that? Do you know how supply and demand works?
Agreed but there's no way to quantify how much money was spent in R&D etc. Whenever anyone calculates the profit of a product it's almost always from the standpoint of cost of manufacturing only. "It costs us $5 to build this widget and we sell it for $25. Profit equals $20 per widget".
Keeping the Air around complicates the product lineup, they were SO close to have a streamlined lineup!! This is what I was (and still am) hoping for:
2017
Macbook Air 128GB - $999
Macbook Air 256GB - $1199
Macbook 256GB - $1299
Macbook 512GB - $1599
Macbook Pro 128GB - $1299
Macbook Pro 256GB - $1499
Macbook Pro 256GB TB - $1799
Macbook Pro 512GB TB - $1999
2018
Macbook 128GB - $999
Macbook 256GB - $1199
Macbook 512GB - $1499
Macbook Pro 256GB - $1499
Macbook Pro 256GB TB - $1799
Macbook Pro 512GB TB - $1999
This cleans the whole thing up, charging forward with USB C and retina-only models, hits most price points, get a retina model under $1000, while maintaining profit margins.
Your thoughts on “simplification of lineup” is exactly what’s wrong with Apple today, with all due respect. With *certain* “small” simplifications often comes with large usability pains for many customers.
Put it this way. If there was a chance USB-C was going to stick around a long time, and if there was only a *minimal* reduction in convenience to users as far as integrating their MANY non-Apple, non-USB-C devices and hardware in their homes, offices, cars, work areas, musical instrument systems, etc., then this bleaching of ports to USB-C could be tolerable. But many of us are tired of Apple’s forcing us to be courageous at the cost of convenience and...cost, since adapting to all USB-C ports is not a no-brainer.
I can’t be the only one growing awfully tired of Apple’s giving us new hardware options that are optimized for how they feel things will be in 5 years, where, in 5 years, it’s awfully likely that Apple will have yanked the football again and force a whole new set of USB-D or -E targets on us.
There’s a balance, but Apple is not good at offering balanced designs anymore. It’s all about fashion and forced simplicity. We’ll see if my next laptop is a Mac. Unlikely at this pace, sad for me.