Someone remind me why Apple products are so expensive.....?

[Jawloms]

BBC News - Apple posts record $13.06bn quarterly profits, up 118%

 

£8.36bn in three months???

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Apple have done a massive amount for computing and I think their products are great, but I have never and will never buy one due to the cost.

 

Stuart

[Greenbeast]

It's genius, they release out of date specs and charge through the nose for it. Quite phenomenal

[andyturpie]

I am not a fan of apple, they have convinced the human race that choice is evil. I don't get the "It just works" arguement as I have seen many non working examples, plus the fanboy "I never get a virus on my mac" boils my kidneys, they won't be saying that when they have 85% OS market share i tell thee!

 

PS never had a virus on my PC for 9 years.......

[zag]

You say they are expensive which is true but the ipads especially are very competitively priced and easily "best of" product.

 

Well worth it in my opinion.

[jinnantonnixx]

I don't own any Apple products, but when I occasionally have a go on an ipod touch or iphone or similar, I'm always left with the impression that it was a pleasure to use. The experience is everything.

[Domino]

The experience is everything.

 

This.

 

Why would they release bleeding edge specced gear - when having complete hard/software control enables them to ensure it all fits together to a pleasing end user experience.

 

Horses for courses though, you want top spec - you build your own or buy a windows/linux prebuild

you want ease of use, a nice UI and little maintenance you go Mac (assuming you can afford it)

 

I find it funny how many people moan about apple fanbois when they're far more rabidly anti-mac then the supposed fanbois are pro mac.

[Arthur]

will never buy one due to the cost.

By that logic, you would never buy an Audi or BMW because a Hyundai is cheaper!

 

they have convinced the human race that choice is evil

Choice is bad, when you have too much of it. See Barry Schwartz's Paradox of Choice video on TED or this article on The Verge.

[TechMonkey]

I don't get the "It just works" arguement as I have seen many non working examples,

 

I think your problem there is getting confused between "It just works" and "It never breaks or goes wrong". The latter is generally false, the former is generally true. In the 5 years I have had a Macbook I have had one major issue which was sorted by an Apple store with no fuss. Beyond that no issues.

 

Now you have to weigh this up with I am possibly less inclined to fiddle as I was on a PC (though I do use terminal and play around) but I can agree with it just works.

 

EDIT: But on topic, I can't disagree, that is obscene!

[sted]

By that logic, you would never buy an Audi or BMW because a Hyundai is cheaper!

 

but you could buy a seat/vw/skoda thats is 90+% identical to the audi for less same as the same parts apple use in a pc cost less you are to an extend paying for "badge snobbery"

[Greenbeast]

but you could buy a seat/vw/skoda thats is 90+% identical to the audi for less same as the same parts apple use in a pc cost less you are to an extend paying for "badge snobbery"

 

Quite!

 

Also, about lack of 'bleeding edge' hardware, i'm talking about simple things like 3G on the first iPhone, when dozens of other cheaper phones already had it, and the fact their cameras are always years behind in terms of pixel count.

[broc]

For the masses, it's all about image....

 

Audi = status symbol, Skoda/Seat..... practical choice, does the same job for less.

 

It's a similar story with Apple products .... IT & graphics professionals aside, a lot of people buy Apple products because of the image it represents, a form of badge snobbery.

 

Apple products are good at what they do; I also agree with the comments earlier, they do just generally work & provide a pleasant user experience.

[Greenbeast]

I will say, i love my ipod, i have used iphones, ipads and imacs and have very much enjoyed the experience, but it's just not worth paying so much for, for me personally.

[andyturpie]

but you could buy a seat/vw/skoda thats is 90+% identical to the audi for less same as the same parts apple use in a pc cost less you are to an extend paying for "badge snobbery"

 

My how times of changed, in the mid eighties I used to deck myself out in expensive designer labels to express myself as an individual, to stand out from the crowd. It seems it has reversed and people want to throw money away just to fit IN with the crowd.

 

Also why are gadgets such an emotive subject, its a bit sad that we don't have these arguements over microwaves, fridges and washing machines as well.

[LosOjos]

their cameras are always years behind in terms of pixel count.

 

I see where you're coming from with this, but to Apple's defence any photographer will tell you the pixel count is almost irrelevant, it's sensor size that matters. I have to say, the iPhone pictures are some of the best I've seen from a mobile...

 

Having said that, I still won't buy Apple as "the experience" isn't worth the 40% premium to me. The iPad I'd be tempted by if I were in the market for a tablet, and I do love my old iPod, but I doubt I'll ever spend the kind of cash they're asking for on a Mac

[jinnantonnixx]

Choice is bad, when you have too much of it.

 

Too true. Before I bought my Android phone, I was considering getting a Nokia. I looked at their web-site, and tried to choose a suitable phone. When I looked, Nokia had just over 100 models to choose from. Over 100! I kid you not.

 

Faced with this Dulux colour chart situation, I couldn't make a choice, so I and went and bough a San Fransisco Android phone instead. It does everything I want, and I bought it outright for £80.

[localzuk]

Main reason for their pricing? Because they can.

 

Does the food in high end restaurants really cost 25x the price of cheaper places? No.

[LosOjos]

Main reason for their pricing? Because they can.

 

Does the food in high end restaurants really cost 25x the price of cheaper places? No.

 

Nail on head.

[andyturpie]

It seems then, that as the majority of people have all this disposable income to buy these devices, that the world economic model is about to disappear up its own sphincter is just a myth?

[LosOjos]

It seems then, that as the majority of people have all this disposable income to buy these devices, that the world economic model is about to disappear up its own sphincter is just a myth?

 

You'd like to think so, however there are far more people who don't have the disposable income for these things than there are that do. With a profit margin like Apple's, that fact is easily masked.

[Pottsey]

It's genius, they release out of date specs and charge through the nose for it. Quite phenomenal

I really do not understand why people say that when often like in the phones and tablets the specs are a year ahead of everyone else which is anything but oudated. Just look at the Ipad2 which after a year is still the fastest tablet GPU by a large amount. The Iphone4s is well over twice the graphics speed of any other phone today, in fact the Iphone4s has more graphics power then any current tablet let alone other phones.

 

EDIT: The GPU is in many ways the most important specs now they are GPGPU's and run some types of software better then the CPU. More and more software like the UI and web browser are being moved onto the GPU over CPU.

Edited January 25, 2012 by Pottsey

[Jawloms]

My arguement is not about whether their products are good/better/worse/nice/etc, my arguement is if they are making sooo much money, can't they lower their prices a little?

[broc]

My arguement is not about whether their products are good/better/worse/nice/etc, my arguement is if they are making sooo much money, can't they lower their prices a little?

 

Why would they want to? Plenty of people are willing to pay the Apple price, and many of their competitors are happy for Apple to keep their prices high so they can keep theirs high too.

[Jawloms]

Because if they lower their prices, they become more available to others so they get a greater market share.

[Theblacksheep]

Because if they lower their prices, they become more available to others so they get a greater market share.

 

Or they keep their prices as they are because 'the masses' want them anyway, they become objects of desire....

 

"No mum I don't want this rubbish, I want an iPhone."

[localzuk]

My arguement is not about whether their products are good/better/worse/nice/etc, my arguement is if they are making sooo much money, can't they lower their prices a little?

 

I don't see why they would. They're selling like crazy, despite the price. Reducing price won't necessarily increase sales, but would hit their profit margins. Corporations in the USA are legally required to make as much profit as possible. Reducing their price would go counter to this.