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This staggered price jump into luxuary goods land that Apple has been leading seems really weird to me. And not very sustainable. I wonder how a Steve Jobs-led

by tpmx 7y ago

This staggered price jump into luxuary goods land that Apple has been leading seems really weird to me. And not very sustainable. I wonder how a Steve Jobs-led Apple might have managed this issue (of Apple being asked to increase their revenue by some relative large factor each year).

paulpauper 7y ago
Steve would not be opposed to the idea. the iPhone has always been pricier than competitors, as are macs in general compared to PCs.
- tpmx 7y ago
  He launched the Macbook Air gen2. It was arguably the world's best laptop for a few years, at a very low cost (was it $899 or $999 at the base config cost?). This was around 2010-2012 or so. College kids were using the exact same SKU as highly-paid developers or execs. I loved that. During these years, you literally couldn't buy a better compact laptop just by paying more. Also: the low cost allowed us to treat them with less reverence. I went through 2-3 of them over 5 years or so. Nowadays I really hate feeling like like I need to protect that MBP as jewel. A $1k hit never really felt that bad. A $3k hit feels bad.
- AndrewStephens 7y ago
  That is not really true. The iPhone was launched at a lower price (and basically killed) than what passed for smart phones of the time. Likewise, the iPad was priced very aggressively. Sure, you can buy cheaper smartphones now. But the iPhone is still priced in line with the similarly featured flagship phones from competitors.
  - tonyedgecombe 7y ago
    Apple’s margin is still high in all its categories. I suspect this is what drives their pricing.
- hindsightbias 7y ago
  To think the original Macs flew off the college bookstore shelves at $2K THIRTY-FIVE years ago... This model cannot last?
ksec 7y ago
Some said it was Tim Cook, and other Executives like Scott Forstall trying to tell Steve Jobs to lower the selling because not everyone could afford it. On the other hand Steve did acknowledge in various interviews that Apple had to make profits to sustain its R&D and innovation as well as Cash options if big chances were to come. Steve never had the Apple right now where they have too much cash and not sure what to do with it. To date Apple had already spend $400B in buy back. And they still has $100B Net Cash on hand, with all of its business segment extremely profitable. I wonder if Steve would say we might want to lower our margin a little, or AppleCare+ for free. Instead Tim Cook decided AppleTV + will be the moat and bait to keep people within the iPhone Ecosystem. Which I dont have much faith on.
- tpmx 7y ago
  These 4-5 separate statements seem really disconnected. Or perhaps I'm just not following you. Could you please attempt to explain a bit more, so that we can connect the statements?
tonyedgecombe 7y ago
Smart phones have become so integral to life for most people that I can see many deciding its worth spending a lot. I’m not even sure I would describe it as a luxury good, $40 per month over two years is less than a daily coffee habit.

by tpmx 7y ago

paulpauper 7y ago

Steve would not be opposed to the idea. the iPhone has always been pricier than competitors, as are macs in general compared to PCs.

tpmx 7y ago
He launched the Macbook Air gen2. It was arguably the world's best laptop for a few years, at a very low cost (was it $899 or $999 at the base config cost?). This was around 2010-2012 or so. College kids were using the exact same SKU as highly-paid developers or execs. I loved that. During these years, you literally couldn't buy a better compact laptop just by paying more. Also: the low cost allowed us to treat them with less reverence. I went through 2-3 of them over 5 years or so. Nowadays I really hate feeling like like I need to protect that MBP as jewel. A $1k hit never really felt that bad. A $3k hit feels bad.
AndrewStephens 7y ago
That is not really true. The iPhone was launched at a lower price (and basically killed) than what passed for smart phones of the time. Likewise, the iPad was priced very aggressively. Sure, you can buy cheaper smartphones now. But the iPhone is still priced in line with the similarly featured flagship phones from competitors.
- tonyedgecombe 7y ago
  Apple’s margin is still high in all its categories. I suspect this is what drives their pricing.
hindsightbias 7y ago
To think the original Macs flew off the college bookstore shelves at $2K THIRTY-FIVE years ago... This model cannot last?

ksec 7y ago

Some said it was Tim Cook, and other Executives like Scott Forstall trying to tell Steve Jobs to lower the selling because not everyone could afford it. On the other hand Steve did acknowledge in various interviews that Apple had to make profits to sustain its R&D and innovation as well as Cash options if big chances were to come. Steve never had the Apple right now where they have too much cash and not sure what to do with it. To date Apple had already spend $400B in buy back. And they still has $100B Net Cash on hand, with all of its business segment extremely profitable. I wonder if Steve would say we might want to lower our margin a little, or AppleCare+ for free. Instead Tim Cook decided AppleTV + will be the moat and bait to keep people within the iPhone Ecosystem. Which I dont have much faith on.

tpmx 7y ago
These 4-5 separate statements seem really disconnected. Or perhaps I'm just not following you. Could you please attempt to explain a bit more, so that we can connect the statements?

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

Smart phones have become so integral to life for most people that I can see many deciding its worth spending a lot. I’m not even sure I would describe it as a luxury good, $40 per month over two years is less than a daily coffee habit.