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Why is Apple Ram Upgrade so much $$$
- Thread starter jw3571
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Profit. That's it. Get it if you want Apple to be able to exchange your ram if its faulty. Otherwise, as long as you have the capability to dial a phone (for RMA, if needed), it's alot cheaper and no different than getting another brand from NE or amazon or OWC or something.
LOL I'm pretty sure its just because they are installing it for you. It's not "better" ram. In fact with OWC you get a lifetime warranty with ram. And yes you can get SSD's much cheaper aftermarket as well. Just google around, some nice SSD's can be had in the $150-200 range as long as you don't need a huge one.
its the Apple Tax..
The same reason a mediocre (stats wise) 13" MBP goes for $1200. Not hating on Apple, but its the truth. Yet it still doesn't stop me for upgrading every 2-3 years.
The same reason a mediocre (stats wise) 13" MBP goes for $1200. Not hating on Apple, but its the truth. Yet it still doesn't stop me for upgrading every 2-3 years.
But that's not really the same thing. You can only get a Mac from Apple. They're unique in many ways. RAM you can get from anywhere, the same or better than Apple will sell you. There's really no excuse for exorbitant RAM prices.
I bought an excellent laser printer from the Xerox. The 1 gig DDR2 PC-5300 ram upgrade from OWC $50. From Xerox $700. Go figure...
I bought an excellent laser printer from the Xerox. The 1 gig DDR2 PC-5300 ram upgrade from OWC $50. From Xerox $700. Go figure...
That's why its called the apple tax. You can buy the components cheaper elsewhere but when you go to apple, you're paying a premium.
The same thing can be said for their laptops. Configure a similar computer at dell/hp and you're saving yourself anywhere from 400 to 800 bucks. The debate of windows vs. OSX comes into play, build quality, and design of the computer, but at its most base level, you're credit card is going to be dinged harder when buying a Mac then a PC.
I disagree. You mention OSX, build quality and design as if they're just throw-ins like a belt clip in a cell phone box. For the usual Apple tax that you pay on a Mac you get that OSX, build quality and the design, things of value that are worth money. You get nothing extra by paying the "Apple Tax" to buy a RAM upgrade from Apple. That's what makes it exorbitant.
lolwut?
The BOM for an iPad is estimated at $290. The retail price is $500. Assuming selling, research, and development are free, that's still nowhere near 80%.
In all fairness i don't think i would call the RAM upgrade the apple tax because ALL manufacturers charge significantly more for their RAM than just going 3rd party. So overcharging for ram is definitely not unique to apple, however when apple charges a few hundred more for a laptop than another manufacturers equally specked laptop then that is the apple tax lol.
Also, Apple releases updates to fix and improve things. Unlike Windows releasing 40 "Security Updates" a day...
No, but the iDevices don't have as high of a markup as, say, the 13" MBP, which is probably the highest markup that apple has. Probably still not 80%, but still very high.
The iPhone has the highest margins of Apple's major products by far. Before the iPhone, Apple's gross margins were around 30% and there net profit margins were 2 or 3 percent above the personal computer industry average (around 15% vs industry average of 12%). These numbers are even more significant when you consider that profits from the OS are not included in the competitor's profit margin (because they belong to Microsoft, not the hardware manufacturer.)
The term "Apple Tax" was invented by Microsoft to imply that you do not receive any benefit from the extra money that you may spend on a Mac. Anyone that uses it is simply trying to cloud the real value comparison.
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The use of C2D and other components that are relatively less expensive than the larger models. Just a guess though.