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What is the Apple premium these days?

mike2q

mike2q

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 9, 2006
261
587
I remember on a few different occasions feeling like Apple laptops were very over priced compared to an equivalent equipped PC box. At other points in the chain I felt the prices were pretty close.

What is the consensus these days about the cost difference? I'm not looking for someone to try and put a price on the value of the operating system its self. (I already much prefer OS X) I'm looking for a hardware to hardware cost analysis.

What does everyone think?
 
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flopticalcube said:
THe premium still varies, IMO, but is much smaller than before. This really depends if Apple is selling exactly what you want.
Click to expand...

Right. Take the 27" iMac. It's actually a great deal IF you were going to buy a 27" LED of that quality anyway. But many people would go with a far cheaper display and not notice the difference if given the option.
 
It's worth it in the end because you get better quality.

BTW, this is what Apple uses the Apple tax for:
1170.jpg

;)
 
Oh goody. Perhaps that graphic can be posted a few more times in the forums, because we haven't seen it enough.
 
Equal parts cost equal money

mike2q said:
I remember on a few different occasions feeling like Apple laptops were very over priced compared to an equivalent equipped PC box. At other points in the chain I felt the prices were pretty close.

What is the consensus these days about the cost difference? I'm not looking for someone to try and put a price on the value of the operating system its self. (I already much prefer OS X) I'm looking for a hardware to hardware cost analysis.

What does everyone think?
Click to expand...

My answer is:
If you buy an equivalent PC you spend equivalent money.

The standard motto with Apple is that they don't make "bare bones" or "low-end" machines. They make USEFUL computers that EVERYONE can use. Cost differences between their models are usually for bigger screens and hard drives, faster processors, and more memory. But ALL of their machines come with the OS and iLife preinstalled. You get the FULL restore disks to be used whenever and however many times that you want. You don't have to worry about Viruses. Most peripherals don't need drivers you just plug them in.

I have two friends that have always complained about Macs "costing too much". Then they turn around and drop $2,000 on a "laptop" that weighs nearly 10lbs and is almost an inch-and-a-half thick. Their response is: "It has a numeric keypad." Really? A numeric keypad?

A laptop should be easy to carry with you (be light and thin). Apple used to make a 10lb-inch-and-a-half-thick laptop back in the 80's.

Yes, I'm an Apple fanatic. But I truly believe that if you bought equivalent PC hardware you'd spend just as much (if not more) as you would on a Mac.
 
I think the general answer is that it depends where you are in Apple's product cycle. Immediately after a Mac is released it is very price competitive with equivalent hardware, sometimes even being a better deal. However, 6 months or more later before the next update or refresh, PC hardware has dropped considerably in price while Macs almost always remain at the price that they were introduced at.
 
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The biggest WTF? price in Apple's lineup right now are the Mac Pros, and the 15" MBP right now, especially if you get the mid-level version with the independent graphics card.

The 17" MBP's value for money is difficult to judge because there aren't a lot of manufacturers that make a quality 17" laptop with good screen and battery life.

The iMac line offers decent value for what you get, and the MacBooks aren't a massive ripoff either, IMO.

I don't know about the Mac Mini.
 
iMac and Mini are same price as a comparable PC or cheaper. the laptops are overpriced. the 15" MBP was Ok right after the June refresh, but now you can configure a Dell Studio 15" for $1200 or so and a comparable MBP is $3000.
 
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