SSD size

[tdream]

Why have Apple not dropped the pricing on SSDs upgrades and the continued insistence on keeping 128Gb alive? Some phones have 1TB as an option...

SSD prices have fallen 5 to 10x in recent years but the price difference between 256, 512 and 1tb remain the same if not greater.

 

[poorcody]

Actually Apple just did lower the prices on SSD upgrades in the last few weeks. Still high though!

Keeping 128GB probably allows them to keep the advertised "starting at" price low...

 

[sennomulo]

Yes, you can find cheaper SSDs from other computer manufacturers, but with the lower prices you're typically getting slower SSDs. Or it's a lottery and you have no idea if the SSD is going to be a fast one or a slow one until you open the box. You can argue that the Apple tax is at play here, but part of what you're paying for is the knowledge that you're going to have a quality, high-speed SSD in your device.

 

[Howard2k]

Cost /= price. Apple charges those prices because people will pay them.

 

[maerz001]

Why have Apple not dropped the pricing on SSDs?

To earn money

 

[ruslan120]

I'm not a fan of the pricing, by any means.

But to play devil's advocate, Apple SSD prices have a markup that I assume includes upgrading the machine you're about to buy, testing it to make sure everything works, etc.

Example:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/...-processor-with-turbo-boost-up-to-4.6ghz-2tb#

The best 2TB drive IMO is the Samsung 970 Evo ($400). Apple charges $700 for a similarly performing drive (for the above reasons).

 

[maflynn]

Why have Apple not dropped the pricing on SSDs upgrades and the continued insistence on keeping 128Gb alive?

Profit margins

 

[0906742]

You can argue that the Apple tax is at play here, but part of what you're paying for is the knowledge that you're going to have a quality, high-speed SSD in your device.

How does that knowledge apply to new entry level Pro machine (or am I missing something)? I hope it is still high quality but considering speed, you struggle finding a separately sold NVMe ssd that has this low performance no matter how cheap drive you get.
Luckily even NVMe vs sata ssd speeds are so high compared to traditional spinning hdd's that speed difference between different type ssd's is neglible and most of us won't notice any difference in real use.

 

[Valdna]

I assume includes upgrading the machine you're about to buy, testing it to make sure everything works, etc.

All machines come out straight from the factory. No one is opening them up and resoldering the SSD-s...
There are not that many different configuration options that they should build to order.... They just ship to order

 

[ruslan120]

All machines come out straight from the factory. No one is opening them up and resoldering the SSD-s...
There are not that many different configuration options that they should build to order.... They just ship to order

Haha fair point. I didn't mean to imply that they were putting iMacs together just to take them apart, but rather a combination of
1. Bulk base model configurations ready to ship
2. Bare motherboards at the factory that they then assemble in your configuration, test, and ship

(For the laptops they would obviously have presoldered motherboards. For the iMacs and upcoming Mac Pros it'd be a different story.)