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I've only used apple laptops since I was in high school, starting with the first release of OS X in 2001; they're long-lived enough that I've actually only owne

I've only used apple laptops since I was in high school, starting with the first release of OS X in 2001; they're long-lived enough that I've actually only owned 3 of them in that whole 17 year span. an iBook, a Powerbook, and I'm still currently using a 2012 Macbook Air. I wince every time I buy one (with 5+ years between purchases, the ASP is quite a bit higher each time), but the longevity of the devices does really soothe the sting of the price tag. Then again I think they're sort of on to us; I have always believed that the best thing to do, since the device will last a while, is to max out every spec that you can't change yourself later, like ram. These days, though, every spec is something you can't change yourself later; you end up having to take their overpriced upsell on every item if you want a competent machine. It's a real slap in the face that they charge you $400 over the base price just to get a reasonably sized ssd for example (500gb vs the base 128). 500gb ssds compatible with the older macs cost about $99. I don't think I'm getting 4x the value out of having no choice about it, but they know they can get away with such outrageous prices because we don't really have a choice about it.

OJFord 8y ago
> the longevity of the devices does really soothe the sting of the price tag. Or does the price tag make you eek out every last fl.oz. of longevity? Even if a <whatever> with Linux on it wouldn't last 6 years, you could probably get the same hardware for half the price and replace every 3; you'd have a time-relative higher spec laptop for more of the time as a result. e.g. my phone cost £60 2 years ago, at the time was essentially equivalent to a 2 year old flagship, but new. I should probably replace it soon, but at the same amortised cost, an iPhone would've had to have lasted me longer than they've existed. (And the current ones are more than twice as expensive, which wouldn't bode well for its replacement!)
- chadlavi 8y ago
  It's definitely true that there are cheaper devices out there, and it's not hard to get a better price per annum effective cost; I'm not saying macs are the cheapest thing out there, and I'm not maximizing for effective annual price. What I'm saying is: I want the mac, specifically. And the fact that I know I can trust it to last 5+ years makes me less concerned about the overall premium price they charge for it.

OJFord 8y ago

> the longevity of the devices does really soothe the sting of the price tag. Or does the price tag make you eek out every last fl.oz. of longevity? Even if a <whatever> with Linux on it wouldn't last 6 years, you could probably get the same hardware for half the price and replace every 3; you'd have a time-relative higher spec laptop for more of the time as a result. e.g. my phone cost £60 2 years ago, at the time was essentially equivalent to a 2 year old flagship, but new. I should probably replace it soon, but at the same amortised cost, an iPhone would've had to have lasted me longer than they've existed. (And the current ones are more than twice as expensive, which wouldn't bode well for its replacement!)

chadlavi 8y ago
It's definitely true that there are cheaper devices out there, and it's not hard to get a better price per annum effective cost; I'm not saying macs are the cheapest thing out there, and I'm not maximizing for effective annual price. What I'm saying is: I want the mac, specifically. And the fact that I know I can trust it to last 5+ years makes me less concerned about the overall premium price they charge for it.