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What should a New MacBook Pro cost?

M

Merkava_4

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 4, 2010
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California
Back in 1976, the state-of-the-art Texas Instruments TI-30 electronic calculator was right round $400 at Sears. It was the most advanced consumer electronics device at the time. Adjusted for inflation, $400 comes out to $1759.17 in April 2017 dollars. That was big money back in 1976. So rounding it off to $1760.00 .... maybe that's the correct price for a new MacBook Pro in today's dollars. The only difference being, the Texas Instruments TI-30 was made with expensive Texas labor at the time.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...s_Instruments_TI-30_electronic_calculator.JPG
 
Merkava_4 said:
It was the most advanced consumer electronics device at the time
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So unless the macbook rocks a GTX 1080Ti at 2kg weight and has 12 hours of battery life, this comparison is not fair at all. In no regard is the Macbook the most advanced machine of the generation. The most polished maybe, but advanced - hell no.
 
Pangalactic said:
So unless the macbook rocks a GTX 1080Ti at 2kg weight and has 12 hours of battery life, this comparison is not fair at all. In no regard is the Macbook the most advanced machine of the generation. The most polished maybe, but advanced - hell no.
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The TI-30 might've made it to 12 hours; I don't know for sure. :)
 
My brain hurts trying to follow this thread, I'm not sure what the point is.

All companies factor in component costs, assembly costs, overhead and desired profit margin. Apple has done all that and we're looking at a 2,400 dollar price tag for the base 15" MBP. What am I missing?
 
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I had one of those as a kid - rather my mom had one from school so I would use it to do homework. The keypad on that thing was trash, sometimes it would register a key as two hits or sometimes it wouldn't pick up the keypress at all. Very frustrating! But the red LED display was cool :)
 
"What are you willing to pay for a new MacBook Pro?" That is one of the important questions any company must answer when deciding on a price point for a product. The answer to that question is rather subjective from a consumer standpoint. Sales numbers tell me that there are people willing to pay the asking price. Then, there are some who feel that a laptop computer is a waste of money. I feel that personal opinion plays a large part in such a question.
 
Merkava_4 said:
That Apple II reminds me of the IBM Selectric II typewriter. That typewriter was fun to use. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter
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I've said multiple times, I would love a keyboard made from an IBM Selectric Typewriter. We still have one hiding out at work for the rare times a form has to filled out in triplicate.
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robvas said:
I had one of those as a kid - rather my mom had one from school so I would use it to do homework. The keypad on that thing was trash, sometimes it would register a key as two hits or sometimes it wouldn't pick up the keypress at all. Very frustrating! But the red LED display was cool :)
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My dad had the TI-25 for ages. I loved the chiclet keys on that model. :)
Texas_Instruments.TI-25.version1.5.jpg
 
In 1984 the original Mac was $2499, and was the top end model, with 128K of memory, 9 inch monochromatic display, 1.4 MB 3.5" floppy. $2499 is about $6,500 now. So a MBP should be $6500 + the price of the new parts.
 
I don't think there is a single formula that can or should be applied to determine the cost of a MBP today.

Not sure how apple determines their prices but they could start with a selling price and then add the components that would hit that price while maintaining their gross profit. Apple could go the other way by pricing components to determine the selling price.

Apple is in business to make money so I think they are probably maxing out their profit either through sales volume, sale prices, or a combination of both.
 
They should probably pay more mind to competitors prices.
Right now these are prices of similarly specced Dell vs MBP for me:

15" 2017 MBP Kabylake 2.8Ghz 16GB 512GB SSD = € 3,139
15" 2017 Dell XPS Kabylake 2.8Ghz 16GB 512GB SSD = € 1,799

So about €1,340 in the difference - the price of a higher spec MBA is € 1,379 or of the entry Dell 13" XPS is € 1,349.

So for the price of a MBP I could buy two Dells, or a Dell and a MBA. Or take a ten day holiday. Or buy a small car.

I cannot tell you what the MBP should cost - but I can tell you it should not have that much opportunity cost. One would be absolutely mad to pay that kind of premium.
 
Audit13 said:
I don't think there is a single formula that can or should be applied to determine the cost of a MBP today.

Not sure how apple determines their prices but they could start with a selling price and then add the components that would hit that price while maintaining their gross profit. Apple could go the other way by pricing components to determine the selling price.

Apple is in business to make money so I think they are probably maxing out their profit either through sales volume, sale prices, or a combination of both.
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One thing for sure though, the profit margin of the MBP is a closely guarded secret. My guess is the profit margin is probably at least 200% of Apple's cost to manufacture it. There's probably no other product on Earth with that much of a profit margin.
 
I think apple needs to pay much attention to other manufacturers but that isn't the only factor.

People certainly appear willing to pay premium prices and, until that stops, apple products will continue to enjoy a huge following and loyal customer base.

If I were an Apple shareholder, I'd be happy with the product prices. Unfortunately, I can't afford to be an Apple shareholder.
 
Audit13 said:
People certainly appear willing to pay premium prices and, until that stops, apple products will continue to enjoy a huge following and loyal customer base.
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You nailed it right there. I wonder what the percentage is of Apple customers who put the MBP on a charge card and make high interest payments on it....
 
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Merkava_4 said:
One thing for sure though, the profit margin of the MBP is a closely guarded secret. My guess is the profit margin is probably at least 200% of Apple's cost to manufacture it. There's probably no other product on Earth with that much of a profit margin.
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You don't know much about economics, do you.

The profit margin on an Apple laptop is nowhere as high as a LOT of other things. Hell, the profit margin on a cup of Starbucks coffee or a soda at the movie theatre is higher (on the order of over 1000%).
 
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IllIllIll said:
You don't know much about economics, do you.

The profit margin on an Apple laptop is nowhere as high as a LOT of other things. Hell, the profit margin on a cup of Starbucks coffee or a soda at the movie theatre is higher (on the order of over 1000%).
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If the profit margin wasn't so high, they'd tell you what it is.
 
Merkava_4 said:
If the profit margin wasn't so high, they'd tell you what it is.
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Wrong. May I ask what your qualifications are to make such a broad and false statement?

And by the way: if you have no knowledge of Apple's profit margin on its laptops, then you have absolutely no basis to say "there's probably no other product on Earth with that much of a profit margin." Granted, it's high but still nowhere close to what the profit margin is on a lot of other products.
 
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IllIllIll said:
Wrong. May I ask what your qualifications are to make such a broad and false statement?

And by the way: if you have no knowledge of Apple's profit margin on its laptops, then you have absolutely no basis to say "there's probably no other product on Earth with that much of a profit margin." Granted, it's high but still nowhere close to what the profit margin is on a lot of other products.
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I've got you all figured out now. You're an agent hired by Apple to quelsh all this forum talk about Apple's prices and profit margins. What better way to nip it in the bud than to attack the thread starter. How dare people like me speculate as to what Apple's profit margins are! It's none of our business!
 
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Merkava_4 said:
I've got you all figured out now. You're an agent hired by Apple to quelsh all this forum talk about Apple's prices and profit margins. What better way to nip it in the bud than to attack the thread starter. How dare people like me speculate as to what Apple's profit margins are! It's none of our business!
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Uh, yeah, OK, whatever.

You stated something totally inaccurate: "there's probably no other product on Earth with that much of a profit margin." I tell you that's untrue, and you have no evidence or proof to back up your speculation. That makes me an "agent hired by Apple"?

Why can't some people like you just admit when they're wrong and they don't know what they're talking about? Making strawman arguments just makes you look silly.
 
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