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Could you elaborate? I actually have the same sentiment, but a quantitative comparison would be really interesting to better understand just how much more expensive the ASD + Mac Studio / Mini would be.

You’ll have to look back in the thread for the person that was initially making the case
 
Could you elaborate? I actually have the same sentiment, but a quantitative comparison would be really interesting to better understand just how much more expensive the ASD + Mac Studio / Mini would be.
A used M1 iMac in excellent condition can be bought for about €1000. The Studio Display is €1500. For new prices look on Apple’s website.
 
Just out of curiosity - what's wrong with the Mac Studio / 27" ASD combo? It's surely more capable - you don't have to lock yourself into the 24" iMac option. Is it because
  • You're dead set on getting an AIO?
  • It's just a cost issue?
  • Something else?

It would be much more expensive

The simple solution is actually to buy a non-Apple monitor
 
A used M1 iMac in excellent condition can be bought for about €1000. The Studio Display is €1500. For new prices look on Apple’s website.

Hmmm... I don't think it's helpful to compare "excellent condition" versus new, and an M1 iMac is not a 27" iMac. I'd prefer a more apples-to-apples, spec-to-spec comparison (new versus new, 27" versus 27").

I do see several attempts to address that, but the threading and replies feel messy and disorganized to me.

That's ok - it's an interesting subject, but I do wish there was a more thorough analysis to draw a conclusion from.
 
Hmmm... I don't think it's helpful to compare "excellent condition" versus new.
A new Studio Display would be $1599 (€1749). €1500 is a secondhand display in excellent condition. No matter which iMac you want, it’s cheaper to get than the ASD.
 
A new Studio Display would be $1599 (€1749). €1500 is a secondhand display in excellent condition. No matter which iMac you want, it’s cheaper to get than the ASD.

I see what you’re saying now
 
Just out of curiosity - what's wrong with the Mac Studio / 27" ASD combo? It's surely more capable - you don't have to lock yourself into the 24" iMac option. Is it because
  • You're dead set on getting an AIO?
  • It's just a cost issue?
  • Something else?
The Mac Studio ASD is a true cost issue for me being on a fixed income and I also like having an all in one that I have now. It is just more elegant solution of having the computer and monitor being together as it is a space issue where I have my iMac right now.
 
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So the entire point is trying to save money? Why exactly should Apple make that product then?
lol yeah the stance of “go out of your way to reduce your revenue, Apple!” is not very realistic. Even if Apple did offer it before, they are not obligated to continue. It might have made sense for Apple at the time, but apparently not any more.
 
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It can still be used as a very nice monitor with an aging Intel Mac attached to it. There are plenty of use cases for that in the age of streaming and video content.
I believe only older iMacs can be used as a standalone monitor. Apple did away with target display feature some time ago. Sad.
 
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Sure,

The point is that it costs much more now to get the equivalent set up buying seperate pieces than it did in the past to buy an imac
What about long term? Someone mentioned that if you have an external display, money can be saved by upgrading only the computer, which I think is true. Depending on specifics, I imagine it significantly lessens the disparity over time.
 
What about long term? Someone mentioned that if you have an external display, money can be saved by upgrading only the computer, which I think is true. Depending on specifics, I imagine it significantly lessens the disparity over time.

That only works if the computer costs less then the aio would have minus the cost of the display.
 
It couldn't be more clear now. In the event John Termus said the 4.5k 24-inch iMac is a perfect upgrade from 4k or 5k iMacs.

Perhaps, some day, a 30 or 32-inch iMac would come. But personally, I think that's a dream. All-in-ones are a mostly dead category. They don't sell enough to even bother with new colours, switching to USB-C, or upgrading the base ram or memory.

It is not dead, Apple just wants you to buy their crazy expensive 27” or insane crazy expensive 32” monitor if you want anything bigger than 24”.
 
It is not dead, Apple just wants you to buy their crazy expensive 27” or insane crazy expensive 32” monitor if you want anything bigger than 24”.

insane crazy expensive 32” doesn’t even come with any stand lol extra $999 if you need a stand or something instead of hold it by hands lol xd.
 
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It is not dead, Apple just wants you to buy their crazy expensive 27” or insane crazy expensive 32” monitor if you want anything bigger than 24”.
The market has matured. Back in the 2000s monitor sizes kept increasing. Now they've reached the sweet spot. Therefore Apple has to now step in and charge a premium tax on the full-size models.
 
This reminds me of the whole FusionDrive situation. Apple comes up with this amazing software which combines a small SSD and a large HDD to one logical volume, combining the properties of both (high speed and storage capacity). But then they price it so high that all the cost benefits of this solution end up in their own pockets.

Similarly you’ve already paid upfront for all the reusability advantages of an external monitor by buying a Studio Display. The only way to save some money is choosing a third party monitor. Or build your own FusionDrive with a flex cable from China.

In an All-in-One the display is just one component of the package. You don’t get robbed twice by the Apple tax.
 
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If you are Apple then I suppose you shouldn’t

What the person I was referring to was saying that the studio plus monitor is going to cost them much more then the iMac would have

Pretty simple and correct statement that an Apple cheerleader here tried to create a convoluted argument against
Which iMac?

You're talking about an iMac that doesn't exist anymore, and hasn't for many years. You can't assume that any new iMac would cost what it used to cost. Back then they were practically giving away the 5K display in order to get the product into people's hands (albeit with fairly lame computer hardware compared to what's available today).

The possible combinations of Mac mini or Mac Studio and Studio Display / Every 3rd party display on the market mean price wise any user has way more options for any budget than 2-3 iMac SKUs would provide.
 
Which iMac?

You're talking about an iMac that doesn't exist anymore, and hasn't for many years. You can't assume that any new iMac would cost what it used to cost. Back then they were practically giving away the 5K display in order to get the product into people's hands (albeit with fairly lame computer hardware compared to what's available today).

The possible combinations of Mac mini or Mac Studio and Studio Display / Every 3rd party display on the market mean price wise any user has way more options for any budget than 2-3 iMac SKUs would provide.

I suppose if you wanted to you could extrapolate from the price of a current 24” iMac and the previous difference between comparable 21 and 27
 
This reminds me of the whole FusionDrive situation. Apple comes up with this amazing software which combines a small SSD and a large HDD to one logical volume, combining the properties of both (high speed and storage capacity). But then they price it so high that all the cost benefits of this solution end up in their own pockets.

Similarly you’ve already paid upfront for all the reusability advantages of an external monitor by buying a Studio Display. The only way to save some money is choosing a third party monitor. Or build your own FusionDrive with a flex cable from China.

In an All-in-One the display is just one component of the package. You don’t get robbed twice by the Apple tax.
I don't think the performance of the Fusion Drive lived up to its promise, which made it more of a stop gap measure until large SSD's came down in price. I also recall people having a lot of software-side issues caused by Fusion Drives. It was a neat idea that never really lived up to its promise.
 
I don't think the performance of the Fusion Drive lived up to its promise, which made it more of a stop gap measure until large SSD's came down in price.

And here we are now with super cheap nvme/flash storage and Apple’s selling computers with 256GB drives.
 
I don't think the performance of the Fusion Drive lived up to its promise, which made it more of a stop gap measure until large SSD's came down in price. I also recall people having a lot of software-side issues caused by Fusion Drives. It was a neat idea that never really lived up to its promise.
I built a FusionDrive with a Mac mini (2012). 128GB SSD + 2TB HDD an extra flex cable and one Terminal command. Worked flawless ever since. Still my only Mac with some noteworthy internal storage. ~70€ if I remember correctly.

EDIT: Apple’s SSD and FusionDrive prices are equally reprehensible.
 
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