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> At some point, the prices become unjustifiable. In what sense though? Because the premium they're charging doesn't feel fair? That sounds odd to me. Pros hav

> At some point, the prices become unjustifiable. In what sense though? Because the premium they're charging doesn't feel fair? That sounds odd to me. Pros have a history of paying ridiculous sums to work on exotic hardware like SGI's because it was the best tool for the job. A few hundred doesn't seem like that big a deal.

mercer 10y ago
I'm afraid Apple is thinking exactly this way. As a 'Pro customer' I know that I can and probably will end up paying more for 'less' eventually and get one of the new MacBook Pros. But for the first time in my life as an Apple user (just short of 10 years, I think), for the very first time I feel the price is only barely justifiable and I actively looked into alternatives. I suppose the fact that I couldn't find an alternative that was good enough validates Apple's current offering and pricing. But it's a solid chunk of goodwill gone, and the moment I find an alternative that is good enough, they'll lose at least one well-paying customer. And even then it's probably not a problem for them. They make so much on their mobile devices that the Pro can be an afterthought.
Veen 10y ago
I'm happy to pay more for a MacBook than I would the equivalent Windows machine or Linux laptop because I value the experience of using MacOS, the superior (for me) software ecosystem, and what I consider to be better hardware and support. But, I don't attach an infinite value to each of those. I will pay more for those things — even more than they're worth on a strictly rational assessment — because I can't get them elsewhere. But at a certain point, the "Apple premium" becomes so obviously punitive that I start thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to deal with Windows or Linux, that the hardware from other manufacturers isn't all that inferior, that I'll put up with the support from a Lenovo. But, on the other hand, I'll probably just hang on to what I have until the next iteration.

mercer 10y ago

I'm afraid Apple is thinking exactly this way. As a 'Pro customer' I know that I can and probably will end up paying more for 'less' eventually and get one of the new MacBook Pros. But for the first time in my life as an Apple user (just short of 10 years, I think), for the very first time I feel the price is only barely justifiable and I actively looked into alternatives. I suppose the fact that I couldn't find an alternative that was good enough validates Apple's current offering and pricing. But it's a solid chunk of goodwill gone, and the moment I find an alternative that is good enough, they'll lose at least one well-paying customer. And even then it's probably not a problem for them. They make so much on their mobile devices that the Pro can be an afterthought.

Veen 10y ago

I'm happy to pay more for a MacBook than I would the equivalent Windows machine or Linux laptop because I value the experience of using MacOS, the superior (for me) software ecosystem, and what I consider to be better hardware and support. But, I don't attach an infinite value to each of those. I will pay more for those things — even more than they're worth on a strictly rational assessment — because I can't get them elsewhere. But at a certain point, the "Apple premium" becomes so obviously punitive that I start thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to deal with Windows or Linux, that the hardware from other manufacturers isn't all that inferior, that I'll put up with the support from a Lenovo. But, on the other hand, I'll probably just hang on to what I have until the next iteration.