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UK peeps -- can you afford Apple any more?

profmjh

profmjh

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 7, 2015
1,734
1,800
UK
The cheapest MacBook -- not the Pro, but last year's ultra-thin -- is £1,249.

That's insane. Who can afford that? How can they justify the cost to themselves?

What do you spend most of your time doing on your laptop? Couldn't you find a laptop for under a grand? Hell, couldn't you find one for £400 that does all the same stuff?

Apple is now a super-luxury product, and out of my price range.
 
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My original 2006 MBP cost the better part of £3000. Was this expensive? Damn right! But you are not just buying a screen, keyboard and components all wrapped up inside a beautiful enclosure, you are buying the software experience of MacOS, is it worth that additional excess? Well that's something for you to decide, it's a personal thing and worth what you believe it's worth.

If all you do is browse and email, then sure a £400 laptop would most likely be fine (personally I'd go iPad only if these were my only needs). But for people who use more demanding software they require a better machine and to achieve that there is an associated cost.

Apple have always been in the more expensive end of the market, unfortunately, like most luxury items, you can either afford it or you can't, same with cars, houses etc etc.
 
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Use mine for work, MacBooks have lasted years longer than any laptop I have ever owned so it's worth the price to me. My old MacBook is going to my son for a music tech course he is doing.
 
I've bought the 13" MBP with Touch with no upgrades. £1749 minus 6% discount through the professional body I belong to (using Edenred). It's probably twice what I'd have spent of my own money, but my own company is paying for it.

Spec wise, even this 'base' model is more than I need, but it is my one chance to be extravagant, and experience buying something brand new in terms of release. I am really looking forward to being able to work on either iPhone, iPad Pro or MBP seamlessly. My iPad Pro is used for most of my office stuff, but sometimes you need a keyboard, mouse (or trackpad) and a proper folder, file structure. I get around this with compromises, plus my iPad Pro is only the 32gb version (another compromise on cost as I had to buy it out of my own money).

This is my first Mac, and I'm very excited. It's not something I'm planning to purchase again for some time. I'm not a gamer, I don't do video or photo editing, so I'm sure a lot of you would question why I'm getting a MBP, but I've had Windows laptops and Desktops that run like dogs not long after having them...probably because I had a budget and had to compromise on low / medium spec. This is the first (possibly last, we'll see!) time I've not been constrained, apart from a little common-sense! I could've gone for a maxed out 15", but that would've been spending for spending's sake.

Oh, and I've bought a dongle too!
 
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I can afford it for work purposes. Wouldn't even consider it for anything other than professional purposes. But it isn't a casual laptop. They've always been comparatively high end and have always been nuts to purchase just to browse Facebook and watch Netflix.
 
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For me the MBP I have on order is a complete luxury. I don't *need* it, but then again I don't *need* my iPhone, Apple Watch or iMac either.

I could buy a cheap laptop to do most of what I do when not doing the music production thing on the iMac. I've gone down this route before, when I bought an HP laptop whilst hankering after a Macbook. It was awful of course, and became slow quickly and bogged down by some terrible version of windows and the whole thing wasn't an overly pleasant experience. Clicky plastic. Urgh

I inherited an old aluminium Macbook from a friend, which I use every day. Compared to the laptop it was a night-and-day experience. The Macbook was solid, great design and construction, felt fast (most of the time), wakes up from sleep in a heartbeat and of course has the great OSX/MacOS interface.

Do I need it? Not at all.

But whilst the new Macbook range is hideously expensive, it is a machine I will use daily - pretty much from the moment I come in from work (where I use a flaky Dell notebook), until the time I go to bed. I know it should give me years of use and to be honest, when I use something so much I don't mind paying more for it (same goes for cars and mattress) because it becomes such an integral part of my life.

Do I wish they were cheaper? YES!!!! I had saved £1200 for the new MBP so was gutted to see the 13" at £1700. I am not happy at paying the extra, but I take solace in the new(ish) tech and the touchbar representing at least a portion of that price hike.

Besides, Apples are supposed to be at the 'luxury' end of things. It's always been their price position. I think many people have been hypnotised in recent years due to the influx of the iPhone and a myriad of cheapo Windows laptops.
 
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macTW said:
Blame the UK. Apple didn't do anything. Brexit created a lack of confidence in the currency and then exchange rate fluctuations. Apple didn't change anything, you guys did........
Click to expand...

Apple raised the prices damn fast.....when the pound was 2:1 , apple never matched the currency change....just saying.

Apple plays the currency game globally where it suits them.

I'd prefer to still sell a product even at a lower profit than push people towards PCs....a whole generation of Mac users come through school,...what student can afford the new ones...?

Brexit or not, it's not longer value for money, like it used to be. Mine arrives next week, but it's going to be amazing for me to keep it
 
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The 15/2.9/460/1TB MBP I've just bought came to £3329...! It's a serious amount of money, but I'm lucky in that I can afford it & I bought my last MBP in 2012 so it's only a once in 4-5yr purchase. I recall that purchase (maxed out retina MBP) was in the region of £2900, so up about 10-15% (which guess 4yrs inflation explains?... well not really)

I'm not a professional, but use my laptop everyday & also do quite a bit of photography/Lightroom editing and want something that will last me another 5yrs - I know it'll give me a lot of pleasure so worth the money to me.
 
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Whilst I could have afforded it, I decided I couldn't justify spending £2489 on the spec I wanted so ended up splashing half that on a rMB.

2010 I bought a maxed out MBA (4GB RAM 256GB SSD) for around £1500. 2013 I bought another maxed out MBA (8GB RAM 512GB SSD) for around the same £1500. Whilst I had expected a MBP with a similar spec bump (16GB RAM 1TB SSD) to cost more, I wasn't prepared for £1000 more!

The rMB seems fine for now, although I'm not sure how it will be doing in another 3 years as performance wise it's pretty similar to my 2013 MBA.

I still think Apples laptop line up is a mess, with too many devices and prices for some that just don't make sense. Now the MBP is so thin, maybe we'll see some rationalisation and they'll standardise on a single form factor with appropriate screen sizes and price points for those wanting a small entry level machine and those wanting a bigger all powerful workstation.
 
I can afford it. I got an email from my building society the other day that said, " we are dropping your interest rate to 0.6%'. that is 60 pence per £100 per year.
What is the point in saving it. So I bought a new MacBook pro. And no , I have nothing better to spend it on.
 
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Not happy about the price but not like we have a lot of choice. My iPhone is a luxury but my Mac is for work. For the first time in 25 years I did wonder about the possibility of moving to Windows but then I gave myself a hard slap across the face and ordered my new MBP.

(Originally I did think about getting a new iMac too but because of the cost I'm now I'm seeing how I can make my 15" MBP my main machine. And for the life of me I can't decide on what monitor to get. I'll probably chicken out and go for the Ultrafine 5k just because it's Apple approved although I really fancy one of those 38" monsters for the same price.)
 
I think half of it is down to Brexit and half is just a price bump across the range (I think they've gone up in other regions not affected by currency fluctuations).

Can I afford it? Yes, just about.
Can I justify the price for something that genuinely seems will be a step back from my current MacBook? No.
 
MH01 said:
Apple raised the prices damn fast.....when the pound was 2:1 , apple never matched the currency change....just saying.

Apple plays the currency game globally where it suits them.

I'd prefer to still sell a product even at a lower profit than push people towards PCs....a whole generation of Mac users come through school,...what student can afford the new ones...?

Brexit or not, it's not longer value for money, like it used to be. Mine arrives next week, but it's going to be amazing for me to keep it
Click to expand...

It's the same in Canada. When our dollar slips, they adjust the price very quickly upwards to reflect that.

The only time the price comes down though is when it's a big gap and people are crossing to the US to buy them (since we mostly live really close to the border).

It'd almost be easier if they just let us buy in USD.
 
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The price bump was a combination of Brexit and general apple increases (fairly chunky rise in US prices too.)

I had a hard limit of £2,300 in mind for a new 15", but ended up spending £2,709 in the end. I think the prices are a bit crazy, and every one I know thinks I'm mental. I know I'll keep this laptop for four years, and I know it will still feel great when I come to upgrade it (like my 2013 13" does now tbh.)

I don't really need the power, but I travel / stay in hotels a fair bit so it wasn't too hard to justify that kind of portable performance. Will be used for light gaming (WoW etc) and hopefully some xcode which I've started to explore.
 
I am going to hold onto my 2010 non retina MBP upgraded to SSD (512GB) and 8 GB for a few more years. I paid £1500 plus £200 for the upgrades, and I am not prepared to spend more than £1500/£1700 for a laptop. I don't need for professional use or work, just a hobby/home stuff.

So in short I could afford it but I cannot justify that amount of money on a laptop (and I love IT and gadgets, I got my first computer when I was 12, an Amiga 2000!, I am now 40).
 
TibookAktive said:
The 15/2.9/460/1TB MBP I've just bought came to £3329...! It's a serious amount of money, but I'm lucky in that I can afford it & I bought my last MBP in 2012 so it's only a once in 4-5yr purchase. I recall that purchase (maxed out retina MBP) was in the region of £2900, so up about 10-15% (which guess 4yrs inflation explains?... well not really)

I'm not a professional, but use my laptop everyday & also do quite a bit of photography/Lightroom editing and want something that will last me another 5yrs - I know it'll give me a lot of pleasure so worth the money to me.
Click to expand...

The one I've yet to order comes in at that price also, though gonna get my nephew to come with me when I go to order it as he's just started uni. That'll get 10% off the price which is a bonus and makes the high price almost justifiable.

I played with one of the new 13" Pros today and the Apple guy was full of excuses/justification of the ridiculous pricing.
 
Just wondering though, how come is Apple's pricing reflective of Brexit? The only way I could imagine Brexit factoring in is the currency exchange rate taking a hit, but for the most part their current prices are reflective of the US price in GBP + 20% VAT. If anything, I would personally blame VAT more than Brexit..

Luckily for me, I got my MBP a week before the announcement with the intention to upgrade if the new rMBPs are good enough, then saw the price and chose to keep mine :)
 
I was going to buy the new 2016 MBP- placed £1800 aside for it before keynote (having brought my 2012 one for £1299) thought prices would increase about £400-£500 at most.

But with £2.4k starting base price- its just too expensive.

Not planning to upgrade anytime soon unless prices drop significantly.
 
egraphixstudios said:
I was going to buy the new 2016 MBP- placed £1800 aside for it before keynote (having brought my 2012 one for £1299) thought prices would increase about £400-£500 at most.

But with £2.4k starting base price- its just too expensive.

Not planning to upgrade anytime soon unless prices drop significantly.
Click to expand...
Your 2012 15 inch cost £1299?
 
profmatt said:
The cheapest MacBook -- not the Pro, but last year's ultra-thin -- is £1,249.

That's insane. Who can afford that? How can they justify the cost to themselves?

What do you spend most of your time doing on your laptop? Couldn't you find a laptop for under a grand? Hell, couldn't you find one for £400 that does all the same stuff?

Apple is now a super-luxury product, and out of my price range.
Click to expand...

Student here and dropped £2.2k on one. I can afford one easily. Not trying to brag but I am the only one of my friends who manages my money well since I was a kid. None of my tech comes from money from parents.

Note: Did use student discount ofc

I can afford it, but there's no denying it's damn expensive. I only purchased it a few days ago. It took me from the keynote to then of serious deciding. 2015 or 2016. Went with the latter in the end.

To your question of how can I justify these things. Well I spend my money based on how much time I use things. Drinking nights out? Hardly do it. I can't justify the money to time for that. I socialise just fine with friends in a calm environment for free.
My Tempurr pillow? Spent loads of money on that because I use that 10 hours a day for years with health benefits.
Same with my £700 Herman Miller chair. They last 10+ years which equates to at worse a £70 chair per year and those £70 chairs are all garbage in terms of ergonomics. Use that hours a day and also has health benefits.
I can afford a car, but I choose a £2k bike instead because it's good for health and ultimately, I use it to commute each day and enjoy the **** out of doing so. I enjoy commuting to work. That is very healthy for your body and also your mind.
iPhone 7+? Use it for maybe 10 hours a day. 6 hours of music each day and other ****. If you factor in the time I get from these expensive things, it all becomes worth it.

Now the MBP? It will bring far more enjoyment/use in the next few YEARS for £2.2k. This is my first MBP and when I say I've used Windows machines all my life. I spend £1k on one and something breaks in 2 years. They also have no resell value so actually, a MBP is more cost efficient.

That's how I justify all my purchases. How many hours of time they will save/make me enjoy. People need to think; if the money can be spent and will ultimately be worth it in the long run, you should do it. As with my examples above, buying something cheaper may feel better in the short term, but if you go for something expensive for the long term, it may be a better option.
 
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It's expensive but my base rMBP 2012 is no longer in any condition to handle my workload.

Just not sure whether to buy with a credit card, or on finance.. Don't feel like dropping so much money at once..
 
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