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Apple doubled the price of RAM upgrades on the base MacBook Pro
- dang 6y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23378707 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23378707
- melling 6y agoProgress in RAM prices dropping every few years has really slowed. I’ve got a 2013 MBP with 16GB of RAM. 7 years later, I’d expect 16GB to be in the base model. Adding extra RAM adds years to the life of a computer.
- harry8 6y agoIt's the maximum price the market will bear. Think of it as discounts for a gimped machine you can't un-gimp because of Apple policy of treating customers with total and utter contempt. But to be fair, that's pretty common in tech.
- totalZero 6y agoJudging from numbers reported by their competitors in the phone and PC spaces, Apple makes less gross margin on laptops than on smartphones. Jacking up RAM prices allows them to capture more profit from laptops, but also keeps their average gross margin number from device sales from dipping drastically as phone sales slow. Apple breaks their margin numbers into services and devices, so if the devices gross margin dips appreciably, investors will read that as a sign that Apple's cash cow handset business is on the ropes.
- gowld 6y agoWhat's the gross margin on iOS and macOS?
- theonemind 6y agoSince the saturation of the smart phone market, Apple seems to have turned more toward squeezing their customers to maintain their profit margins rather than innovation. That seems like a poor strategy overall. Personally, I predict radical innovation or decline (although the "decline" of something like Apple still leaves a formidable behemoth like IBM)
- ken 6y agoAccording to camelcamelcamel.com, it looks like all RAM prices have been steadily increasing for the past 6 months (after falling for the 2 years prior to that).
- gowld 6y ago10%ish. 8GB RAM costs $50, not $200.
- Bellamy 6y agoOverpriced products, not using standards, must buy adapters, forcing Apple sign-in to apps and overall vendor lock-in. Just to name a few why I hate Apple.
- ThePowerOfFuet 6y ago>Not using standards Which standards are they not using? >Must buy adapters It was this way shortly after the migration from DIN to PS/2 keyboards, and also shortly after the migration to USB, and also shortly after the removal of floppy drives, and so on. We complained back then too, but each migration was worthwhile in the end. USB Type-C is what USB should have been, but the tech wasn't ready yet. >Forcing Apple sign-in to apps You mean mandating the inclusion of "Sign in with Apple" in some App Store apps?
- gowld 6y agoApple almost always requires adaptors or hubs/docks (for laptops) for complex setups because their machines have 2-4 ports instead of 10, regardless of the type. Mostly 2, unless you pay an extra $400. Try to hook up power, video (or 2), keyboard, backup hard drive, SD card, phone/camera/arduino/whatever, Ethernet. USB-C will never be universal. It's too complex/expendive for dumb peripherals.
- m463 6y agoMost companies are like that, especially when innovation/margins taper off. (not that I don't agree with you)