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All iPads The great memory rip-off

S

superduperdom

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 1, 2010
60
1
"Shoppers who stump up for tablets with extra storage space are being ripped off by the likes of Google and Apple, a watchdog has claimed.

Some techies are forced to pay 1,200 per cent more for additional memory than it costs at market price.

A 32GB Apple iPad Air costs £80 more than the 16GB version.

However, Which? has accused the tablet giant of fleecing customers, as it only costs it £5.85 to include the extra 16GB in the device.

The consumer group claimed that Google also charged an extra £70 – or a mark-up of 1,000 per cent – for a 32GB Nexus 10 over its 16GB model.

Which? described the charges as ‘scandalous’ and said its report had revealed ‘shocking levels of profiteering by manufacturers over something as simple as a chunk of extra memory’.

Its editor, Richard Headland, said: ‘With tablets in demand this Christmas, buyers will be shocked to discover what a raw deal they’re getting on built-in memory.’

He has advised shoppers to buy a tablet with an SD or microSD slot, such as the Microsoft Surface RT, then to add a memory card ‘for a fraction of the cost’.

Unlike PCs, tablet storage is often difficult to upgrade. Most devices have a sealed design, which makes adding new hardware near impossible.

To compound the problem, the true amount of storage space on a new tablet is rarely the same as advertised on the packaging.

On a 16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, only 10GB is left for a user’s files because operating systems and built-in apps take up space."

Apple, Amazon and Google made no comment over the allegations."
http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/20/the-g...ing-off-customers-over-extra-storage-4193464/
 
I agree... and don't forget the extra $100 for every other memory jumps.

But Apple is in the business of offering products, making money and people have the option to vote with their wallet.

Me, no way that I will spend close to $1k on an unlocked 4" iPhone but I'm willing to spend on a rMini. :D
 
Yes, I was very disappointed when Apple made me buy my 128GB iPads. What a ripoff! Had I know the price of the iPads before I bought them, I wouldn't have...

Oh, wait...
 
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I hope this ends soon. I will be very disappointed if next year's iPad Air doesn't start at 32GB for $499 (ideal price) or $529 at the most.
 
Guess you've never bought a Coke at a stadium... :rolleyes:

In other news: Movie theaters charge popcorn customers 1000x the cost of corn!
 
superduperdom said:
"Shoppers who stump up for tablets with extra storage space are being ripped off by the likes of Google and Apple, a watchdog has claimed"
Click to expand...

All well and good, but what are your thoughts on the subject? You post text from an article, but don't offer anything to the discussion.

Remember this is a discussion forum ;)

ZBoater said:
Yes, I was very disappointed when Apple made me buy my 128GB iPads. What a ripoff! Had I know the price of the iPads before I bought them, I wouldn't have...

Oh, wait...
Click to expand...

FWIW, I personally feel that it is an insult for any of these companies (Samsung, Apple, Etc) to offer a 16GB or less base product here & now. I would have less objections paying $100 per size tier, if the base model wasn't woefully outdated with regards to storage space.
 
Apple will sell at the price which the market it willing to pay.

Even if the extra upgrade costs Apple less than a dollar, Apple will still charge 100 dollars if people actually pay that.
 
The most important part:

are forced to pay
Click to expand...

NO, they are NOT. Absolutely not.

When you buy a car you are not FORCED to buy 'Electronics Package A' for $4000 that has $250 worth of components.

Others already made the concession / movie food analogy.

Bottom line - to keep pricing at certain levels, Apple (and others) have lower margins on their bottom configuration, and seek to gain margins on higher configurations. Quite simple.

Smart consumers will realize that they are less likely to hold this device for a number of years than they would have a computer a decade ago, and also that permanent local storage is much less important than it was then.

So instead of the old 'buy the most you can afford' maxim, they should 'figure out what is right for you'. For me, 16GB was too little because of the apps I actively use, whereas 64GB turned me lazy, but 32GB is perfect.
 
If you don't like the pricing structure vote with your wallet. I agree some of the pricing is rather steep, but its their product and they can price it at any point.

Its up to us customers to accept or reject it. Just look at the iPhone 5c, people thought that it was too expensive and they voted with their wallets. Sales are down to a degree that Apple was continually scaling back manufacturing to a point where they stopped making them for now.

I remember back in the day when Apple made the G4 cube, it was priced at the same level of a PowerMac (same as a MacPro but on the PPC chipset), with it being totally unexpandable, people didn't buy it, even though it was a striking design that was well received. It was just too expensive (among other issues)
 
RobZ71LM7 said:
I just bought a 16gb, the future is cloud.
Click to expand...

Sure, for storage of documents, pictures, and music but what about apps? Ever looked at the size of a well designed app? Even still, the cloud is awesome until your 30,000+ feet about sea level in a plane that prohibits you from using their wifi for streaming media services.

Although I may own a 16 GB device soon enough, I cannot believe 16 GB is still the base size available at a price tag starting at $500 USD.

People, watch dogs, consumer activists and the rest of us need to simply show Apple and Google that 16 GB is not enough. Buy 32 GB and let 16 GB sit on shelves. There is no other effective way to really tell Apple you're unhappy. But let's be real, you're still buying an iPad and you're paying more. My hope is when inventory sits on shelves longer than expected then Apple will realize that 32 GB should be the norm. Lofty dreams, no doubt.
 
GoCubsGo said:
...Buy 32 GB and let 16 GB sit on shelves. There is no other effective way to really tell Apple you're unhappy. ...
Click to expand...

But that's the point, isn't it? 16GB models are very popular. I imagine people wanting to save $100-200. So why would Apple stop making them? :confused:
 
It is a memory ripoff from Apple. Fortunately, 16gb is more than enough for me considering home sharing and cloud technology. Reminding previous poster that apps also live in the cloud.
 
I take issue with the term "ripoff", as it suggests some sort of malice or fraud. Something being grossly overpriced can be called a ripoff, and I guess the case could be made the iPads are overpriced. But to me, you can't be ripped off is someone OFFERS you something, and you CHOOSE to buy it. It becomes a ripoff if they hid something from you, and you found out after the sale. You were ripped off.

Here, Apple is offering iPads for sales in several configurations at several price points to appeal to different people. You can choose to buy or not buy. 16GB is a very popular configuration. Many people don't need more than that, others can make do, others can't afford anything else. I just don't see the ripoff part. These things are selling like crazy. If it was "grossly overpriced", they would not be selling. But they are.

Do I wish I could buy Apple products cheaper? Of course I do. Is Apple ripping me off? Of course not.
 
I get that pricing is laways set at what the market will bear but c'mon folks, have a heart! Lots of people enjoy these devices and it would be nice if the pricing structure was a tad more user friendly.

That being said, NO ONE has ever been forced to buy anything.
 
superduperdom said:
Its editor, Richard Headland, said: ‘With tablets in demand this Christmas, buyers will be shocked to discover what a raw deal they’re getting on built-in memory.
Click to expand...

And yet consumers will buy millions of iPads this season. I love "consumer advisor" articles like this because they 1) assume people are rock dumb & don't know what it takes to make a buck and 2) don't put any value on a device's utility or boost in work efficiency.

Personally I'll take a more expensive device with a deeper s/w catalog & updatable OS than a less expensive one with shallower one & iffy upgradability. The storage argument is silly b/c even if the 32GB iPad was $499 that's still expensive comparatively.
 
Since before the dawn of the "tablet", Apple has been fleecing customers on memory "upgrades". Their BTO pricing on additional RAM / HDD / etc has always been offensive to me (and others I am sure) since I used to build PC's and am familiar with component costs.

And upon switching to 64-bit in the new iPad, they should have increased the system memory to 2GB vice 1GB. 1GB is a joke.
 
One other thing that DOES comeninto play here: Its not like we have the option of upgrading iPads with extra memory ourselves - kind of like you CAN skip the factory stereo upgrade at the car dealer and proly get one thats better for half the price aftermarket. In that sense, Apple DOES lock you into buying this stuff from them and ONLY from them. Its called a captive audience and therefore they can overprice the memory by about 17,000% :D

And, no SD card takes that option away too. Its "smart" on their part but IMO thats kind of lame. In most cases with products the consumer has more options and has some control over the upgradeability of the product. Apple locks you OUT!
 
I think its a fair point by 'Which?'... People need to remember they are possibly the most respected consumer survey in the UK and their approval carries a lot of weight by manufacturers. If they recommend your product, you can bet it will be included in their marketing and often appliances carry the 'Which?' sticker of approval.

Personally I bought a 16GB iPad Air and that is all I need. If it was the same price for a 32GB then that would be a bonus but as it stands I am nowhere near filling a 32GB iPhone. Its nice to have the option though and 'Which?' have a very good point. I also understand Apple and Google have to make a profit and this basic feature (memory) is an easy pointer to get people to pay more.
 
I wonder where they get market value, if its based on what it costs the manufacturer then you'll never get exactly that. That being said, I would be happiest if Apple were pressured to start the iDevices at 32GB, and price its memory upgrades lower. I'm not expecting market value, but maybe $25-$50 per jump.
 
A private company can charge whatever they want - namely, what buyers are willing to pay.

If I were running Apple, I would do just that - charge what my customers are willing to pay, as per my responsibility to shareholders. Which is exactly what Apple seems to be doing.

An iPad is not a basic utility like food or water, nor do they have a monopoly on tablets.

If you don't wan't to pay the outrageous price for a 64gb or 128gb iPad, then don't buy one.

If people wern't willing to pay so much for additional storage, then they wouldn't be charging so much for additional storage.
 
syd430 said:
A private company can charge whatever they want - namely, what buyers are willing to pay.

If I were running Apple, I would do just that - charge what my customers are willing to pay, as per my responsibility to shareholders. Which is exactly what Apple seems to be doing.

An iPad is not a basic utility like food or water, nor do they have a monopoly on tablets.

If you don't wan't to pay their prices then don't buy an iPad.
Click to expand...

But Apple also has a responsibility to itself not to price things so high, when compared to the competition, that a lot of people decide not to buy an iPad.

Apple can charge a premium, just not too much of a premium.
 
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