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So, with more of this happening, I have a bigger question for HN. Why does used Apple hardware command a premium, even years later? Is this really come down to

So, with more of this happening, I have a bigger question for HN. Why does used Apple hardware command a premium, even years later? Is this really come down to status? I don't think I need to discuss the anti-user features that Apple does. This crowd is more than aware.

wemdyjreichert 8y ago
Have you looked at the hardware cost to price on new iMac Pro? About a $313 markup. And factoring the T2 chip (which is worth a whole lot) and slick chassis plus some support, a great deal. https://www.cultofmac.com/485914/imac-pro-pricetag/ https://www.cultofmac.com/485914/imac-pro-pricetag/
- jeswin 8y ago
  That PC being compared to is way more capable than the $5000 iMac Pro. 1080 Ti vs Vega64, that $650 motherboard has better expansion options etc.
wrs 8y ago
Because it’s pretty great hardware. And if you price out trying to duplicate it, without arbitrarily discounting for features you don’t want, it’s not even much of a premium.
- aikah 8y ago
  > Because it’s pretty great hardware. It's not great, it's pretty, sure, but not great. The Last MBP spec were pretty underwhelming, the keyboard was of dubious quality and for the price it's easy to find better specs, more robust and with no extra fee when it comes to warranty. When you buy a Mac you're buying a brand, not a superior product, the "premium" is the logo on rear... Unfortunately I use both Logic and Final Cut on a daily basis so I have no choice.
- noobermin 8y ago
  I'm curious for answers to this after one of the worst experiences with buying a macbook myself back in 2015. It isn't "great hardware", it's just okay but more expensive. If you people really mean "pretty case" and "nice keyboard" then say that because Mac specs are often more expensive for the same specs on most laptops.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  It’s great software too. People don’t want to save $500 and spend 100 hours dealing with blue screens, uninstalling malware, updating OSs, learning half of a new interface (what is wrong with the Windows control panel team)?
- bigbugbag 8y ago
  I cannot remember apple offering great hardware in the not so distant past, what hardware are you referring to ? My experience is that apple hardware had limitation that other hardware did not, and for a much higher price tag.
charlesism 8y ago
Apple slow-boiled its "power users" and the dev community. If everything that has happened since SJ passed away had happened within only one or two years, fewer people would defend them. At this point, if you're younger than 20 years old, you just figure Apple built its good reputation despite all the problems. So these days when Apple does something unpleasant, you get all the arguments that start off "well, Apple has always [had some recent flaw]" or "well, Apple has never [had some old positive attribute]" Apple's reputation has indeed still suffered lately, but many older users are silently giving up, and many newer users don't know any better. I think financially, they're fairly free to do what they want now without massive consumer backlash.
parrellel 8y ago
It really does come down to status. Apple isn't really a computer company anymore, it sells "Luxury Goods" and gets the same sort of value boost you see in diamonds, Rolexes, and Armani suits. This isn't to say the components are trash, but if you removed the cachet of the brand, and the lock in afforded by OSX and iOS, you wouldn't see nearly the current stupidity.
- noobermin 8y ago
  As much as I think this is true, many people around me have macs, especially non-gamers and non-tech savvy people, so it's not that much of a niche.
  - parrellel 8y ago
    It's not that it's a niche, it's that Apple's products are designed to be coveted. I'm saying uninformed people don't first buy Apple based on specs, they buy Apple because of brand recognition and 'fanciness'
    - noobermin 8y ago
      I agree with you by that definition of luxury, yes.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  How is it just status when Apple is the only vendor providing a device that just works with the least time spent fixing it or updating it or removing all the malware that came pre installed on it? My grandparents and uncles and aunts aren’t looking for status. They want to open their device, press FaceTime and see their grand kids. They don’t want to spend time fighting out which login to use on which service Google is experimenting with (duo/allo/hangout?). Hell I don’t even know. It’s not status when you they buy windows laptops for 10 years and they have a 50/50 shot of the sleep function working when they close the lid, but they see people with MacBooks just closing the lid and moving on. And never getting a blue screen. And never waiting for Windows updates to finish. There is a reason Apple has its reputation, and obviously since no one else an offer the seamless experience, they’re going to charge extra for it. But the amount of hours of life it has saved me is worth every penny. That’s how bad the Windows experience was for me and pretty much everyone I know.

wemdyjreichert 8y ago

Have you looked at the hardware cost to price on new iMac Pro? About a $313 markup. And factoring the T2 chip (which is worth a whole lot) and slick chassis plus some support, a great deal. https://www.cultofmac.com/485914/imac-pro-pricetag/ https://www.cultofmac.com/485914/imac-pro-pricetag/

jeswin 8y ago
That PC being compared to is way more capable than the $5000 iMac Pro. 1080 Ti vs Vega64, that $650 motherboard has better expansion options etc.

wrs 8y ago

Because it’s pretty great hardware. And if you price out trying to duplicate it, without arbitrarily discounting for features you don’t want, it’s not even much of a premium.

aikah 8y ago
> Because it’s pretty great hardware. It's not great, it's pretty, sure, but not great. The Last MBP spec were pretty underwhelming, the keyboard was of dubious quality and for the price it's easy to find better specs, more robust and with no extra fee when it comes to warranty. When you buy a Mac you're buying a brand, not a superior product, the "premium" is the logo on rear... Unfortunately I use both Logic and Final Cut on a daily basis so I have no choice.
noobermin 8y ago
I'm curious for answers to this after one of the worst experiences with buying a macbook myself back in 2015. It isn't "great hardware", it's just okay but more expensive. If you people really mean "pretty case" and "nice keyboard" then say that because Mac specs are often more expensive for the same specs on most laptops.
lotsofpulp 8y ago
It’s great software too. People don’t want to save $500 and spend 100 hours dealing with blue screens, uninstalling malware, updating OSs, learning half of a new interface (what is wrong with the Windows control panel team)?
bigbugbag 8y ago
I cannot remember apple offering great hardware in the not so distant past, what hardware are you referring to ? My experience is that apple hardware had limitation that other hardware did not, and for a much higher price tag.

charlesism 8y ago

Apple slow-boiled its "power users" and the dev community. If everything that has happened since SJ passed away had happened within only one or two years, fewer people would defend them. At this point, if you're younger than 20 years old, you just figure Apple built its good reputation despite all the problems. So these days when Apple does something unpleasant, you get all the arguments that start off "well, Apple has always [had some recent flaw]" or "well, Apple has never [had some old positive attribute]" Apple's reputation has indeed still suffered lately, but many older users are silently giving up, and many newer users don't know any better. I think financially, they're fairly free to do what they want now without massive consumer backlash.

parrellel 8y ago

It really does come down to status. Apple isn't really a computer company anymore, it sells "Luxury Goods" and gets the same sort of value boost you see in diamonds, Rolexes, and Armani suits. This isn't to say the components are trash, but if you removed the cachet of the brand, and the lock in afforded by OSX and iOS, you wouldn't see nearly the current stupidity.

noobermin 8y ago
As much as I think this is true, many people around me have macs, especially non-gamers and non-tech savvy people, so it's not that much of a niche.
- parrellel 8y ago
  It's not that it's a niche, it's that Apple's products are designed to be coveted. I'm saying uninformed people don't first buy Apple based on specs, they buy Apple because of brand recognition and 'fanciness'
  - noobermin 8y ago
    I agree with you by that definition of luxury, yes.
lotsofpulp 8y ago
How is it just status when Apple is the only vendor providing a device that just works with the least time spent fixing it or updating it or removing all the malware that came pre installed on it? My grandparents and uncles and aunts aren’t looking for status. They want to open their device, press FaceTime and see their grand kids. They don’t want to spend time fighting out which login to use on which service Google is experimenting with (duo/allo/hangout?). Hell I don’t even know. It’s not status when you they buy windows laptops for 10 years and they have a 50/50 shot of the sleep function working when they close the lid, but they see people with MacBooks just closing the lid and moving on. And never getting a blue screen. And never waiting for Windows updates to finish. There is a reason Apple has its reputation, and obviously since no one else an offer the seamless experience, they’re going to charge extra for it. But the amount of hours of life it has saved me is worth every penny. That’s how bad the Windows experience was for me and pretty much everyone I know.