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Exactly this. The reason these components are priced like that is because VFX studios don't use stands or wheels. Everyone has mounts and the machines are lock
by askafriend 7y ago
Exactly this.
The reason these components are priced like that is because VFX studios don't use stands or wheels. Everyone has mounts and the machines are locked in place. That's who the Mac Pro and XDR Monitor are aimed at. In fact, that's also why the XDR monitor doesn't have a webcam built-in like almost all modern monitors. Webcams are not allowed in many VFX studios.
So if you want a stand or wheels designed to fit these ultra-niche components, that in and of itself is niche amongst the niche.
The cost of R&D + materials for those parts will probably far exceed what Apple will ever recoup in sales.
This isn't like the Apple Watch where they manufacture 60 million of them every year. There are no scale advantages here, it's just Apple doing enthusiasts a favor and making highly custom one-off work available.
- vijaybritto 7y agoI'm pretty sure these stands and their moulds don't cost 1000+ dollars by any standard. Chinese manufacturers can make these at 10$ a piece
- adamwathan 7y agoThey are milled from solid blocks of aluminum, not created with a mould. In another thread another HN user pointed out that to buy a block of aluminum to mill something the size of the stand would cost $1400 from consumer facing suppliers.
- duelingjello 7y agoThat's comparing pears and oranges. At scale, things are much cheaper. The way retail works is divide retail price/2 and that's the wholesale price. It can't cost more than $500 to make. It probably costs $175±$75 at their volume.
- rasz 7y agoAl is ~$2/kg, ~$10/kg in solid blocks https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-mill-5083-6061-6063-7075_62204064236.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-mill-5083-6061-... up to $55/kg including fancy milling from arbitrary sized solid block https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/5052-Aluminum-Solid-With-Anodize-And_62250058306.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/5052-Aluminum-Solid-W...
- vijaybritto 7y agoI'm a mechanical engineer and I have worked in a foundry and in CNC machines, so I think I'm right here. The machining time in CNCs determine the product's price. You have to compare the iphone 11 with all its incredible amounts of tech at 1000$ and this angled aluminium mount costs the same! This is a clear example of "we priced it so much because we can"
- nexuist 7y agoIf they’re not expecting to make more than they spent on R&D, what was the point in even doing that R&D? If they know these options are the “niche amongst the niche,” why even offer them? Isn’t that a boneheaded business decision? Any PR they get for providing these options will be dwarfed by PR talking about their price tags.
- londons_explore 7y agoBecause the fact they even offer this super-high-end equipment helps their reputation and let's them sell more iPhones and watches.
- lostmsu 7y agoModern monitors have a webcam attached to them? Do you mean attached by the owner or built-in? Weird phrasing.
- askafriend 7y agoGood catch, fixed.
- goldcd 7y agoI agree - people are likely to already have stands. And for a mere additional $199 Apple will sell you a VESA mount to let you attach your standless monitor to your stand